


BF stands for best friend

by kopycat_101



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Best Friends, Bipolar Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Bisexual Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Confessions, Crushes, Cute Kids, Female Friendship, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Gay Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Gay Nino Lahiffe, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, JuleRose is canon in this. I repeat JuleRose is canon., Lila Rossi Redemption, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, M/M, Male Friendship, Male Protagonist, Male-Female Friendship, Miraculous Ladybug Rewrite, Miscommunication, Missing Scene, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, POV Male Character, Pining, Pre-Slash, Retelling, Rewrite, Romantic Friendship, Slash, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unreliable Narrator, pining disasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 72,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28365987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kopycat_101/pseuds/kopycat_101
Summary: Adrien's never had a best friend before.He meets Nino. Nino Lahiffe. And the rest is history.(A retelling of Miraculous Ladybug Season 1)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Le Gorille | Adrien Agreste's Bodyguard, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nathalie Sancoeur, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Nino Lahiffe, Alix Kubdel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois & Sabrina Raincomprix, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Lila Rossi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 248
Kudos: 160





	1. The Bubbler

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, hello, I wrote 16.5k (the first four chapters) in 3 days on my phone. I have lost control of my life.

* * *

Adrien's never had a best friend before. At least, not one that he actually made himself.

Felix used to be his best friend, when he visited. But Felix is his cousin. He's family, and sort of obligated to like him, right...?

Chloe was his best friend. That's what Adrien thought for a long time, actually.

There were few children either one were allowed to interact with, and they were introduced to one another rather young. Their parents shoved them together to play, as awkward and knobby kneed little three year olds. With no one else, they stuck together.

Things of course changed between them. Chloe was put into public school to 'help mature and humble her'. Father and Mother kept Adrien at home, because the world was too dangerous to let him leave. (Adrien believed this lie for a majority of his life, believed in his Mother's soft voice and the cold knife of his Father's.)

Chloe became a little more distant, though they still had play dates and the like, after attending public school. But then at some point, their duo became a trio, and little Sabrina Raincomprix joined them as Chloe's loyal friend? Servant? Whatever she was to Chloe.

Then puberty hit. Chloe, already obsessed with fashion and makeup because her Mom was all about fashion and makeup, started to get even more intense. And started to get boy crazy. Suddenly, Adrien couldn't play with her because they were 'growing up' and 'boys and girls can't be friends'.

Adrien had lost the closest thing he had to a best friend, even if he didn't want to admit it.

But was Chloe ever truly his best friend at all...?

* * *

Chloe was allowed to grow, to experience new things, meet new people. No matter if she thought the world ridiculous. No matter if she would complain constantly to him that her classmates were awful, and she hated them all, at least she was allowed the freedom to interact with other kids enough to hate them.

Adrien was stuck at home, abandoned, stuffed in a gilded cage. He was stifled, and clawed at the bars, begged Mother to let him go to school with Chloe.

Mother seemed ready to indulge him, after countlessly telling him in a soft voice that it was safer for him to stay in the manor. She told him time and time again she would talk with Father, and Adrien knew that if there was anyone that could convince Father, it was Emilie Agreste. Adrien's heart grew hopeful alongside his desperation, thick in his mouth like the fresh honey Chloe adored in her favorite sweets.

But then Mother disappeared. And Father tightened the bars of Adrien's gilded cage, putting him to work as a model for the Gabriel Brand so he would be too busy to ask more questions.

Adrien contemplated running away countless times, but the ache to tear the bars from his cage and escape only doubled after Mother disappeared. He wanted to leave, to find her.

Inevitably, the guilt got Adrien to stay in place. Guilt of Mother coming back and finding him gone, making her worried and heartbroken. Guilt of putting Nathalie and Gorilla in trouble for his disappearance, because Nathalie always looked after him and put together his schedules, and Gorilla has been Adrien's bodyguard since he was small enough for Gorilla to see his first steps. Guilt over running away when he was rich, could never want of anything, had name brand fashion and all the newest toys he could ever want, when there were people starving and homeless in the world.

Adrien does not run away. But he almost does it to go to school.

* * *

Adrien becomes a superhero. This gives him the strength to not only fight villains, but also the strength to stand up for himself, to finally take his life into his own hands.

Adrien leaves the manor to go to school. Nathalie tries to stop him, but he's not going to take no for an answer, not going to go back into his gilded cage to wallow away like a priceless golden goose.

"Adrien, wait!"

"Please! Just tell Father you were too late...!"

Nathalie lets him walk through the front doors of Dupont. He's finally managed to convince someone, after all these years. (He wishes it had been his Mother to do it, but Nathalie will have to do.)

Adrien's finally, _finally_ , going to school. He's so overjoyed, he feels over the moon. Even the guilt of getting Nathalie and Gorilla in trouble is overshadowed by the sense of _freedom_ he feels.

It's mitigated when he gets swarmed by students that recognize him the second he steps into the courtyard, and mitigated even further by Chloe commandeering him. When they get to their Homeroom, she puts gum on a girl's seat, and Adrien can't believe it. He knows Chloe isn't perfect, and not the easiest person to get along with, but he never knew she could be so cruel.

Adrien tries to get the gum off and fails, making the girl who was supposed to sit there angry. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, he thinks. One of the girls Chloe hates.

Well, it's no wonder the girl hates him, considering how Chloe treats her.

Frustrated, Adrien takes a seat next to a brown-skinned boy that wears a red cap.

Adrien meets Nino. Nino Lahiffe. And the rest is history.

* * *

Nino is a great friend. He advises Adrien what to do, little things that everyone else knows, like how to react to roll call. Like a life jacket thrown to someone who's drowning, Adrien pretty much instantly latches onto Nino, soaks up his advice, heart warm when the other boy grins back at him encouragingly.

They fist bump, and Adrien is giddy at the motion. It feels like acceptance.

Nino is personable and laidback, Adrien finds. He loves music, though the headphones strung around his neck make that pretty obvious. Music is one of the few things Adrien knows, and he feels comfortable talking about it with his new friend.

Nino nods along to what he says, obviously fascinated at Adrien's classical music training as much as Adrien is fascinated by Nino's abilities to work music equipment for remixing and being a DJ.

Nino shows him a lot. He also coaches Adrien how to talk to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, to apologize for the gum mishap.

Adrien does. Apologize, that is. He gives Marinette his umbrella so she won't get stuck in the rain, and the old thing closes around her by accident, and Adrien can't help but laugh.

When he walks to his awaiting car, Gorilla ready and behind the wheel, Plagg makes a snarky remark about love birds. Adrien retorts with, "She's just a friend".

The words sink in. Friend... Adrien has a new friend. He smiles.

Nino really does give amazing advice. Adrien's grateful for it.

* * *

Adrien tries to be friendly with the rest of his classmates. He doesn't want to intimidate them just because he's a model, or because of who his Father is. He wants to make up for all the harm Chloe causes, and show that despite their tumultuous friendship, Adrien isn't at all like his old best friend.

Some of his classmates are on the shy side, like Mylene and Juleka and Nathaniel, and Adrien doesn't take it too personally that they don't talk to him much. A new face, much less one so famous, is probably really intimidating.

He quickly finds his friends, though. He's got Nino, and he's got Marinette, and Marinette's friend Alya is his friend as well. They make an odd little quartet for sure, but it's fun to be with them.

Nino and Marinette are childhood friends, it's soon revealed. With the way they're so comfortable around one another, how they know so many little details about the other, it makes sense.

Adrien feels a little left out and a hint jealous, but he's not the only new student. Alya is just as new as he is. She asks just as many questions about their classmates, if not more, as if she's trying to catch up on all the years she's missed.

Every time Adrien asks Marinette a question, she stutters and gets nervous, face going pink. Adrien feels bad every time it happens, because it's obvious he makes her nervous or uncomfortable. Alya gives them both a Look every time it happens, and it makes him feel small.

He's not sure what he's missing, or what he can do to stop it. Stop Marinette from being so anxious around him.

The worry is put on hold when Adrien's birthday nears. He's equal parts hopeful and antsy, though he knows he shouldn't have any sort of high expectations. Father will gift him a calligraphy brush pen that Adrien likes to use for his Chinese lessons and writing Important Letters. He'll get a birthday card, and be allowed to eat a slice of cake made by Mr. Baxter, their head chef.

Adrien isn't expecting much. So he doesn't expect for Nino to go to his house to try and convince Father to let Nino throw a birthday party.

"Nino?" Adrien asks, surprised, as he steps forwards. "You're here..."

The cap-wearing teen turns to him, a warm smile on his face. "Anything for my best bud."

Adrien feels warm, rendered speechless, touched beyond belief. Nino's eyes gleam like melted chocolate behind his glasses. Adrien's heart trips in his chest, just a bit.

Father's eyes go icy behind his glasses. "Listen here, young man. _I_ decide what's best for my son."

Of course, things don't work out, no matter how much Nino wants them to. No matter how much Adrien had hoped, despite already knowing Nino wouldn't be able to convince Father.

Nino is all but thrown out the manor door, and Adrien darts after him, ignoring Nathalie and Gorilla.

"Nino, wait!" the blond cries, wanting to get the other to stay, somehow. "I'm sorry. My Father— he's pretty stubborn... it's just best to stay out of his way."

Nino stares back at him indignantly, and Adrien finds himself cringing a bit, his people-pleasing nature wanting him to scramble to apologize further.

"It's not fair, Adrien!" Nino snaps back, crossing his arms. "He's way too harsh. Totally not cool!"

The other turns around and stomps off, Adrien watching his red cap round the gate and disappear with growing dread.

"Nino..." he whispers, feeling like a fist has tightened around his very heart. "Thanks anyway."

He's never had a best friend to defend him before, get angry and indignant on his behalf. He almost wish he didn't, seeing the other in such turmoil.

* * *

Adrien eats lunch. Alone. He wishes Nino could have stayed with him. At least with Nino by his side, he wouldn't be eating lunch alone on his birthday...

Adrien walks around, finding the manor quiet. Too quiet. While he doesn't expect his Father around, Nathalie is usually running around while running errands, or Gorilla is nearby. It's... unnerving.

Adrien goes outside and sees a party set up, all loud music and balloons and streamers. His heart soars for all of two seconds, before plummeting when he realizes there's an Akuma. An Akuma that wishes him a happy birthday in a somewhat familiar voice, and Adrien quickly realizes it's Nino. Then his heart promptly drops into his stomach.

Adrien runs back inside to panic. Plagg tries to calm him down, and manages to convince him to enjoy the party a bit, until Ladybug arrives and Adrien has to transform into Chat Noir.

So he does. He tries to enjoy himself, but everyone seems...off. He attempts small talk with Rose, the short blonde from his class who's always bubbly. She gives him two awkward thumbs up, before turning back with a sad expression to keep dancing with Juleka, the goth girl somehow looking even more grim than usual.

Adrien dances with building anxiety, until the beat slows. A slow dance?

Chloe is suddenly in front of him, tugging on his hands, pulling him close into a dance.

"Chlo, people are really acting weird. Something's super wrong," he tries to tell her urgently, only for his old friend to shush him.

"Don't worry about them! Dance with me!" she huffs brattily, before her expression turns into one of sugary sweetness. It sort of makes Adrien want to gag, the cloying fakeness of it all.

Adrien turns to look at the Akuma. The Bubbler, he'd said his name was.

He looks absolutely nothing like Nino. So far, in Adrien's limited knowledge and encounters, an Akuma's appearance either matches their victim, or looks nothing at all like them. It seems like The Bubbler is the latter.

It's a shame, really. Nino... Nothing about his appearance should have to change. He's tall, even slightly taller than Adrien. He has a really nice smile. His eyes are pretty, and his skin is a nice, warm brown color. His nose shape is also so much more unique and beautiful than the constant button noses and Roman noses Adrien sees photographed in fashion magazines.

Nino is perfect as he is. He shouldn't have to change. The Bubbler zaps all of his natural beauty, turning his warm skin into pastel blue, his body bending into shiny red plastic, teeth a snarl and eyes bordered in patches of chalkboard black. 

He looks like a villain and not the best friend Adrien knows him as. He hates it.

Adrien feels wistful as he sways with Chloe's arms around his neck, eyes still staring at The Bubbler. He wishes Nino was back to normal. Wishes he was dancing with Nino instead...

And then suddenly Chloe is trying to kiss him, and Adrien panics and leans back as far as possible from her lips. His heart thrums with adrenaline and fear, because _this isn't how his first kiss should go._

Thankfully, the slow song stops, so sudden that Adrien is able to wrench himself from Chloe's grasp before she can object.

Ladybug. She's here. She stopped the music.

Adrien feels his heart soar, before his partner parkours away. Then he's filled with confusion instead.

Oh. She must need to recharge. While he's grateful Ladybug stopped his first kiss being robbed by Chloe again— like when they were six and Chloe wanted to show him that his cooties didn't scare her— it's still odd to think that Ladybug didn't have a follow-up plan to stop The Bubbler.

Maybe he just needs to be patient... But he's worried about his friends. Worried for Nino.

* * *

Adrien was right to worry about his friends.

Nino has gone crazy. Well, technically, The Bubbler is crazy. After attempting to send both him and Ladybug into the stratosphere, and a handy use of Cataclysm, both heroes return to fight The Bubbler.

The Akuma captures and sends their classmates floating away in his bubbles. Adrien is almost frozen in fear, because Alya and Marinette, and Chloe and Sabrina, and the rest of his classmates— they could all _die_.

"NO!" the two heroes yell simultaneously.

It's with adrenaline singing in his veins that he leaps after The Bubbler. Ladybug is equally as frantic as she follows after the villain.

"My time's running out!" Chat Noir reminds his partner, while he tries to dodge the explosive bubbles sent his way.

Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm and summons a wrench. Adrenaline thrumming, blood pounding in his ears, Chat Noir makes a quip about her plumbing abilities.

Ladybug makes a wild plan, Chat Noir follows her lead, and it all works out in the end, thankfully enough. Ladybug snags The Bubbler's wand, breaking it over her knee, purifying the Akuma butterfly that flutters out of it.

Chat Noir remembers to fist bump Ladybug, before he runs off to de-transform out of sight.

He does a dead sprint back to see a de-Akumatized Nino gesticulating to Ladybug while they walk down the street. Adrien doesn't hesitate to run right at them, all but slamming into Nino, bringing him into a fierce hug.

"Adrien...? Bro, what's up?" Nino asks quietly, wrapping his arms around Adrien's back.

Adrien breathes, trying to keep it even, as he says plainly, "I was worried about you, Nino. You got Akumatized."

He feels like a child, being so worked up like this. But he feels warm and safe and supported in Nino's arms.

"I'm fine, bro. As right as rain," Nino says with a warm laugh in his ear, his breath tickling Adrien. "I'm more worried about you, honestly."

"Wait, why?" the blonde asks with surprise, pulling back to stare at his best friend. He vaguely notes that Ladybug is long gone. It's just him and Nino. 

"Dude, I got Akumatized and threw you a party and, like, kept you and the others hostage in it," Nino says with a wince, rubbing the back of his neck. "That was majorly uncool of me—"

"It wasn't your fault!" Adrien cuts in firmly, putting his hands on Nino's shoulders. "Nino, it's not your fault you got Akumatized, and you weren't in control as The Bubbler. It's Hawkmoth's fault, not yours."

Nino stares back at him in wonder, brown eyes wide behind his glasses. "So, you...you forgive me?"

"Of course I do! Nino..." Adrien gapes back, just a touch indignant. "Nino, you just wanted to make sure I had a good birthday. No one else has ever really done that for me."

"You deserve it," Nino states, with full honesty. "And I mean, I kinda ruined that..."

"Nino. Don't make me say it again. It was Hawkmoth's fault, not yours," Adrien says firmly, trying for stern, before melting a bit. In a softer voice, he says, "I mean it. Thanks for trying. You're the best friend I could ask for." 

This time, Nino's the one to initiate the hug. It's warm, and surprisingly gentle. Adrien feels loved and cherished and supported. It feels like own of his Mother's hugs, in a way.

"Course. That's what best friends do," Nino tells him quietly.

When they part, they smile at each other. Nino claps him on the back and says, "let's go back to your place and clean up the mess, right?"

"Alright," Adrien nods, heart full to bursting. Nino's friendship means more to Adrien than a thousand fan letters combined.

* * *


	2. The Evillustrator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 of 4 that I wrote on my phone! Hopefully I managed to catch any stray spelling mistakes. I wrestled extensively with autocorrect and predictive text.

* * *

Nino doesn't get Akumatized again, but Alya does, not long after The Bubbler incident.

Marinette seems particularly shaken by this development. The school day after the Lady Wifi incident, Marinette doesn't leave the other girl's side. If they were close before, the two become as thick as thieves afterwards.

Though Adrien isn't really one to judge. Since The Bubbler, he's kept a close eye on Nino. He finds himself often knocking their shoulders together, nudging Nino, touching his shoulder, looking over to keep him in his sights, ans overall staying close to the other boy's side.

If Nino thinks he's being clingy, he doesn't say anything to Adrien about it. Hell, Nino doesn't mince words or hesitate to tell Adrien when he's doing something wrong.

"If I don't tell you you're acting weird, no one will, 'cuz you're you," Nino had explained with a shrug. "You've been homeschooled and stuck in your house for too long, dude. You do weird stuff sometimes."

Adrien had sputtered, embarrassed, when Nino first told him this. But he's grateful to have a best friend who's so honest with him, he quickly finds.

Watching movies and anime can only take him so far, Adrien knows. School in fiction is barely anything like school in real life. Except for Chloe being just as mean and spoiled as an antagonistic rich girl in teen dramas. But everything else is different, like one might find when all the furniture in a room is moved two inches to the right.

Adrien's etiquette training has helped him keep polite, and his perfect model smile is an easy mask to hide behind, when he doesn't know how else to react. But Nino teaches him more and more about 'normal teen stuff', like slang, pop music, junk food, tv series references.

This includes in jokes and facts about their classmates, as well. Using 'worm' as agreement and 'conga rats' instead of 'congratulations'. How no one should mention spiders or Kim will flip, saying Max can't draw is a way to get him to stop talking about astrophysics, and there was apparently a Unicorn Barf Incident that Rose will never live down, but she's not bitter about it.

Nino also points out when Adrien's experiences are wholly different from most others. But, like, not in a rude or mean way. He does it casually, offhand.

"Cafeteria food usually sucks, dude, but not everyone has personal chefs to make them lunch. We get what we get." "Yeah, Alix and Nathaniel carpool. Her older brother picks 'em up. They live close to each other and their dads work at the Louvre, wack hours that overlap with the time school gets out." "Kim works at his parent's restaurant like Mari works at her parent's bakery. Family businesses, but also, like. It costs more to hire more employees. Try not to bring up hiring new employees, they'll think you're rude."

Adrien tries his best to absorb all the information, picking up on social cues he never knew were so important. Like how you shouldn't stare at Juleka or Nathaniel too long because of their crippling anxiety and shyness. How Max prizes firm eye contact and if he talks too much, you need to tell him, or he won't know to stop overwhelming you with information. Don't try to tell Mylene and Ivan to watch where they're going, that just makes them paranoid about their size.

Adrien is forever grateful to have Nino by his side. He'd be lost without him, that Adrien knows.

* * *

"The Ladyblog's got so many hits...!" Alya crows, showing her phone to their table proudly during lunch one Wednesday.

Marinette smiles over at the blogger. "That's great, Alya!"

"Of course. I'm the number one source for info on Paris' heroes," Alya says, puffing up with pride.

"That's pretty impressive," Adrien nods, trying not to show his nerves. Alya is dedicated. Very dedicated. If anyone could figure out his secret identity, it would be her.

He's glad she's his friend and not his enemy, that's for sure.

"My most viewed video is my Ladynoir compilation! It's almost double the rest!" Alya says with a little squeal, swiping her phone and turning it around to show them the new page.

"Ladynoir...?" Marinette asks in confusion, nose wrinkled up.

"Oh, is that their ship name?" Adrien asks, intrigued.

"Yeah! It totally is!" Alya nods, grinning slyly at Adrien. "D'you ship 'em too, Adrien?"

"Ship them?!" Marinette exclaims, goggling at Alya.

"Well, they _are_ partners. Makes sense people want them to date," Nino nods with a hand on his chin.

"I mean, they're partners, sure. But that doesn't mean they have to _date_ ," Marinette stresses, looking surpsingly riled up about the conversation.

Adrien, meanwhile, just sits back and...thinks.

He should feel flattered, right? That people support him and his lady together? Even _expecting_ it? After all, they're partners. Ying and yang. They're perfect for one another...right?

Adrien just sits back and stews, watching his friends unknowingly debate about his love life. Maybe... he should ask Ladybug about this...

* * *

"Nice job, chaton," Ladybug grins back at him after their fist bump.

"Thanks, milady. We're getting pretty good at this, huh?" Chat Noir replies.

"Or maybe third time's the charm," the heroine shrugs with a laugh, before turning to Mr. Ramier, her expression turning soothing. "Sir, will you be alright...?"

"I-I'll be fine. Sorry for causing trouble again," the man says meekly, adjusting his hat. 

"It's Hawkmoth's fault, not yours," Ladybug reminds the man gently.

"Yeah. You shouldn't stop loving the pigeons because of this," Chat Noir adds with a nod and an encouraging grin. Even if said pigeons caused the poor man to be Akumatized three times already.

Mr. Ramier smiles back tentatively, looking relieved, the tension leaving his skinny shoulders. "Thank you both, again."

Their Miraculous beep at the same time. "I'm afraid we have to go," Ladybug starts.

Chat Noir jolts forwards, placing a hand on her elbow. "Can we talk later? Please?"

Ladybug looks back at him, biting her lip, before responding with, "Sure. Let's recharge and meet up quick."

They do that. Adrien lets out a shaky breath, fishing for a slice of Camembert for Plagg as he huddles under a fire escape.

"What's the deal? What do you need to talk to Ladybug for?" Plagg asks after he wolfs his food down like the complete glutton he is.

"Nothing," Adrien says quickly, amending when Plagg gives him a dubious look with, "just something personal."

"Okay..." Plagg trails off skeptically, before shrugging. "Suit yourself."

Adrien transforms and takes to the rooftops. He finds his partner not long after, and she nods her head to the side. They both drop on a rooftop half-covered by a billboard. A billboard with Adrien's face plastered on it. Chat Noir tries very hard not to cringe.

"What's up, Chat?" Ladybug asks, perching herself to sit at the edge of the roof, patting the space next to her for the other to sit.

Chat Noir sits, feeling awkward in his skin as he does so. He tries to think of how to bring it up at all. He wracks his mind, and the first thing to pop out of his mouth is, "Did you know people ship us?"

Besides him, Ladybug sputters and groans. "Chat..."

"They call us Ladynoir," he adds. In for a penny, in for a pound. "Wild, huh?"

"I'm not dating you," Ladybug states firmly. Surprisingly enough, he doesn't feel offended at all by how vehement she sounds. "No matter how much Paris may want it, I don't like you like that."

"That's fair," the leather-clad hero says calmly, swinging his legs and hitting the backs of his heels against the side of the building.

It's quiet for all of three seconds, before Ladybug shrieks, "What?!"

Chat Noir blinks, turning to look at his partner in surprise. Said partner was staring back at him with open-mouthed shock.

"But, but I thought," the heroine starts in a bit of a stutter, "But you're always flirting with me?"

Chat Noir hisses, feeling his mouth pull back into an awkward smile. "Yeah...sorry?"

"Sorry?!" Ladybug exclaims, scrambling to stand, putting her hands on her hips. "What, was flirting with me a joke to you or something...?!"

Chat Noir scrambles to stand as well, hands raised in front of him. "No! No, no, of course it wasn't! I just—"

"Just what, Chat?" the heroine demands, hurt clear in her bluebell eyes. "I've asked you time and time again to stop flirting while we're fighting Akuma, and you never listened before. Is this a joke to you? Am _I_ a joke to you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then _why_ —"

"Because I _thought I had to!"_

Everything feels like it freezes, just then.

The way Ladybug is standing stock-still and staring back at him. The way his breath stills in his chest as he sucks in a sharp breath. The way the sounds of Paris almost seem to quiet to a hush in that very moment.

"What...?" Ladybug asks quietly, her hands dropping listlessly to her sides.

The other lets out shaky breath. He licks his sandpaper dry lips, and says, "I did it... because I thought I had to."

Ladybug just stares back at him, quiet and contemplative. Chat Noir takes this as his cue to keep going.

"I don't know how to act like a superhero. Hell, sometimes I don't even know how to act around other people in general! I've pretty been much using movies and stuff as my guide, and they're all about snappy one liners and banter and the heroes whooing the girl and... yeah."

Ladybug just looks at him for a long moment. Really looks at him. He feels small under her intent gaze, feels like he's being x-rayed. Like Ladybug can see all his squishy insides and all his secrets.

"That... makes sense," the heroine says eventually, after a very poignant pause. "Oh, wow."

"I'm sorry, Ladybug," Chat Noir goes on quickly, feeling like a spilling faucet. "I actually do think you're really cool and strong and smart! You're incredible, and I respect you a lot! I didn't mean to act like a jerk and make you angry and uncomfortable by flirting with you so much. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

The blond wrings his gloved hands nervously, waiting for his partner's verdict. Waiting for a form of condemnation.

Instead, he gets Ladybug pulling him into hug, strong and warm.

"Thank you for realizing what you've made me feel and apologizing, chaton," she says, her chin hooked over his shoulder. 

Chat Noir tentatively hugs her back. "Of course. You're my partner, Ladybug. We're equals."

"Yeah. Partners," she nods, disentangling from their hug. "I'm glad we had this talk."

Chat Noir feels his eyes burn, just a little. He tries to match her beaming smile. His voice is a little thick when he says, "Me too."

Ladybug extends her hand in a fist bump. Chat Noir completes it, knocking their knuckles together. It feels like they've just sealed a contract. It feels like understanding.

He's glad to have Ladybug as his partner. His friend.

* * *

As more time passes, more and more of Bustier's Homeroom class get Akumatized. 

Adrien wishes fiercely that his friends and classmates wouldn't keep being targeted by Hawkmoth.

There are others that get Akumatized, of course. The nice man who feeds the park's pigeons turning into Mr. Pigeon. Darkblade, who was Mr. D'Argencourt, his fencing teacher. A sculptor named Theo, who was a little too old to have a crush on Ladybug, so Chat Noir tried to throw him off the trail, only to have the man Akumatized as a nearly perfect copy of him.

Yet sometimes, even if the Akuma isn't one of his classmates, one of his friends will be involved. Like Alya with The Pharoah. Or Chloe with...a startling amount of Akuma, now that he thinks on it.

Like when Chloe caused Juleka to get Akumatized into Reflekta during picture day. Poor girl was socially anxious enough as it was, but Chloe was cruel just so she could stand next to Adrien in their class picture. Adrien was thoroughly disgusted at the lengths Chloe would sink to get what she wanted.

He was glad his other friends were better than Chloe. Adrien certainly wouldn't be able to handle someone else so mean spirited.

After the Reflekta disaster was over, the shy goth gets some confidence as they retake their class photo in the park, with her front and center in the very middle. Adrien stands behind her seated form, puts his hands on her shoulders, and beams wide as the girl smiles at the camera like a blooming flower. The rest of their class gathers around, Rose beaming like the sun as she borrows into Juleka's side. Marinette is happily grinning, Nino is making a peace sign, and Alya is positioned on the other side of the bench in a crouch.

Adrien's grateful and happy he can support his classmates, both as his superhero identity and himself.

Alix's birthday passes in that same month, and both him and Alya are caught completely off guard. Though Alix wasn't in Bustier's class last year, both Kim and Nathaniel apparently helped remind the class with sticky notes on the board where they put up announcements. A board that Adrien and Alya didn't know they should check regularly.

Marinette literally hand makes Alix a banner for her birthday, because she's crazy talented like that. Alya and Adrien settle for signing the class card.

Alix, of course, gets Akumatized. Because everyone is too nosy about her pocket watch, which Nathaniel hisses was a family heirloom after it's already been broken.

Alix nearly kills Chat Noir and Ladybug, and time paradoxes are involved. It's terrifying.

Adrien still makes sure to buy a small gift for his next classmate that has a birthday. Gotta get as much good karma as he can get, with his luck.

* * *

The next birthday is Nathaniel's.

Unfortunately, Chloe decides the shy artist should be mocked for his art on his birthday. Ms. Mendeleiev being strict with Nathaniel and revealing he was failing Science, before sending him to the Principal's Office, didn't help matters either. Nathaniel naturally gets Akumatized.

Adrien feels bad for bothering Nathaniel— now Evillustrator— because being Akumatized on your birthday sounds awful. He has to get involved to save Chloe from the Akuma's wrath, however, which is becoming an unfortunately regular thing now.

Adrien won't stop protecting Chloe. It's the right thing to do, for one. Two, she's still his friend, no matter how terrible and terribly annoying she is. But she makes it hard. None of his other friends are this complicated...

When Ladybug contacts him to go and protect Marinette instead, because Evillustrator will be with her on a date, Chat Noir is quick to make his excuses and leave Chloe. He sends an apology text to Alya and Nino for leaving them hanging on their group project, making up an excuse about his Father.

They eat it up hook, line, and sinker. Adrien would feel bad, if it wasn't supremely helpful in keeping his secret identity. Though, he really hates lying, especially to Nino...

" _we'll figure out a time 4 u 2 work on the project, dont wrry bout it_ _bro_ " is Nino's answering text. Chat Noir smiles down at his baton, warm with relief.

After that's out if the way, he hops by the Dupain-cheng bakery to get the deets from Marinette herself, as well as ask for her cooperation.

Is he dramatic and puffs himself up when he asks? Yes. It's mostly for her benefit, though. Having an Akuma break into your house and ask for a date must be a nerve-wracking experience, no matter how well Marinette is taking it.

Then he heads back towards DuPont to pick up his things. Might as well get his schoolwork and slip back home with an excuse, so he can sneak out later...

* * *

As the afternoon gives way to the night, Chat Noir goes to the Seine, as Marinette had instructed him earlier. He makes sure to stick to the shadows, leaping across the rooftops.

Near Notre Dame, he pauses and peers down, taking in the scene below him. Evillustrator is creating a ton of things from his drawing ability. New lamp lights, a large moon, even a boat.

It's all... very amazing and very romantic. Chat Noir feels a spike of jealousy steal his breath away, as sudden as a suckerpunch. A deep sense of loneliness follows not long afterwards.

The jealousy is odd, but he thinks he knows why he's feeling loneliness. It's because his partner isn't here with him.

Yes, Ladybug had trusted him to capture Evillustrator on his own, and he felt excited by it. It showed that Ladybug really believed in his abilities to handle this situation without her. But at the same time...it made him feel so _alone_ , watching the scene play out below, while he waited in the cold, no one to worry about him.

Chat Noir edges closer. It seems like his targets are getting on the boat for a romantic boat ride. When he's sure the Akuma is turned to look at Marinette, he leaps, landing as quietly was possible at the back of the raised part of the vessel.

Chat Noir flattens himself down against the roof and pauses, blood pounding in his ears. After a few seconds with no reaction, he creeps forwards.

Evillustrator is seemingly entranced with the bakers' daughter. He writes on his tablet, and a light tinkling of piano fills the air. Bach, Chat Noir is sure. How curious.

Adrien sits back and wonders about the ability... specifically, what would Nino think of it. Would he be excited at the thought of creating music just by drawing out the notes? Or would he find it tedious? Nino isn't classically trained and did most of his music-making through intuition and by ear.

Maybe Adrien would have to be the one to try it, to draw the notes out. He could imagine it now. The two of them sitting in place of Evillustrator and Marinette, on the bench of the boat. Adrien bringing music to life, Nino next to him, leaning in close and bobbing his head to the beat. The moonlight glinting off Nino's glasses, ethereal on Nino's warm brown skin...

Chat Noir is completely in a daze, mind elsewhere, as he creeps further forwards. So much so that Evillustrator takes notice, snapping his head up and staring back at Chat Noir with wide and wild eyes. 

The hero internally curses himself. Damn it, Marinette had her hand on the pen...! His carelessness has ruined _everything_ —

"Chat Noir! Now!" Marinette calls, and the leather-clad hero snaps out of it to extend his baton. The weapon makes enough of a barrier between the Akuma and his accomplice that Marinette can run to Chat Noir's side of the boat, pen in hand.

The expression of pure, unadulterated _fury_ on Evillustrator's purple face is genuinely terrifying, especially when compared to Nathaniel's usually shy demeanor.

That's the thing, though. Hawkmoth makes all his victims the worst versions of themselves. Takes their base desires and personalities, and twists them up, makes them into something hard and furious and barely recognizable.

Evillustrator kicks at Chat Noir's baton, and it's enough to dislodge it, the end striking Marinette's hand. The girl yelps, the pen goes flying, and Evillustrator dives for it with a triumphant smile. 

The Akuma promptly traps both Chat Noir and Marinette in a transparent cube, erasing a hole in the wood under them. Water starts to flood in as Evillustrator sneers at them, declaring, "I'm taking back my word! It's time to teach Chloe a lesson...!"

"We've been penned in! Literally!" Chat Noir finds himself crying as he tries not to panic. The pun does not, in fact, help him not panic

"Chat Noir, your baton! Extend it like this!" Marinette orders, crouching down and pointing at an angle. "It'll act like—"

"—like a simple lever, of course!" the hero says, doing what his friend suggests as she wraps her arms around him tight to hold on. "Great thinking!"

They rise up with enough inertia to jostle to cube away, and now they're no longer trapped and in trouble of drowning. Chat Noir is quick to swing them over to the riverbank, settling his friend down carefully once they touch ground. 

"Sorry, but I have to go save Chloe from Evillustrator's wrath," he apologizes quickly. "Will you be okay to go back home at this time of night? Do you have your phone to call your parents or a cab?"

"I have my phone. I'll be fine. Go," Marinette nods at him, staring back with determined blue eyes. Chat Noir nods back, and leaps away.

* * *

It's a close call. Chloe almost gets buzz-sawed in half.

On the Deadly Akuma Scale, Evillustrator probably ranks at number three from sheer bloodthirst and closeness to actually killing someone. Timebreaker is naturally at number one because of the whole erasing someone from the timeline business, with Pharoah coming in second from almost accomplishing the human sacrifices of one hundred and one victims.

Thankfully, Ladybug arrives as much-needed backup. With her insane luck and crazy plan, they break Evillustrator's pen and de-Akumatize Nathaniel.

Before the artist can ask what's going on, the heroes share their customary fist bump with matching grins. Chat Noir then crouches down and scoops Nathaniel up in his arms bridal style with a grin and a wink.

"I'm afraid I left my present at home. Sorry about that, birthday boy," he teases, trying to distract the other before he falls into some sort of panic attack or something.

Nathaniel squeaks and goes beet-red in the face, scrambling to grab onto the hero's shoulders as Chat Noir launches them out of Chloe's balcony. He just smiles back at the pout of betrayal Ladybug shoots him. He leaves dealing with Chloe to his partner, since she so kindly abandoned him to do it earlier that day.

"My time's going to run out soon," the hero starts apologetically, carefully setting his blushing classmate down. "You're in front of Le Grande Paris Hotel. Will you be able to call someone to pick you up?"

"Y-yes! I can home pick up—phone pick up— I mean—" the poor boy stutters, face as red as his hair and looking mortified, before clamping his mouth shut and settling for nodding his head.

"Cool. Stay safe, and happy birthday, Nathaniel!" Chat Noir calls with a two-fingered salute as he jogs backwards, before turning around and throwing himself onto the rooftop. His shoes barely kiss the concrete behind the hotel dumpster before he's transforming back, his time finally run out.

Now, time to call Gorilla to come pick him up, and hope to God Nathalie doesn't chew him out when he returns to the manor...

* * *

Adrien doesn't think about his classmates until he shows up the next day at school, fighting off sleep.

When Adrien walks through the door of Homeroom, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Kim are crowded around Nathaniel's desk at the back, asking him if he's okay. The artist is pink-cheeked and waving their worries aside, the empty desk next to his with a little pile of gifts Nathaniel didn't get to enjoy on his actual birthday. Adrien hopes Nathaniel likes the artist-grade pencils, because that's the uninspired gift Adrien bought him.

Marinette pulls Nathaniel aside when the lunch bell rings, no doubt to have a private talk with him over yesterday. The artist looks supremely nervous, even downright mortified. Adrien is curious, but goes with Nino and Alya to their usual table at the cafeteria to wait for their fourth member.

Marinette is surprisingly calm when she sits next to Alya nearly fifteen minutes into lunch.

"So? What'd you say to Nathaniel, girl? Spill!" the blogger says, eyes gleaming behind her glasses and leaning into the other girl's personal space.

Marinette just raises a brow back at her. "I told Nathaniel I was flattered, but I didn't want to date. He apologized, thinking he kidnapped me— which he didn't, by the way. Ummmm, I told him the basics of what he was like as an Akuma, he freaked out and apologized even more. I told him I'd like to still be friends. And that's about it?"

"Huh," Alya says, tilting her head and staring back at Marinette intently. "That's it? You're both cool now...?"

"I think so?" Marinette shrugs. "Nath's nice, and he's great to partner up for art class with, but he... he's super nervous around me. And with the whole Akumatizing thing, he seems even _more_ nervous. I felt bad. I want him to be able to talk with me."

"So you're just friends?" Alya presses.

The half-Chinese girl huffs, looking genuinely annoyed as she stresses, " _yes_ , Alya. We're just friends."

"Okay, alright, just double-checking," Alya says quickly while playfully raising her hands. Marinette relaxes instantly with a sheepish smile, and Alya knocks their shoulders together.

"At least you let him down easy," Nino finally says, having stayed quiet this whole time. Adrien, who was keenly invested to see if this ended up like a shoujo manga, snaps his attention away from Marinette to his best friend. "Getting Akumatized... It makes you doubt if you're good for someone, y'know? Makes you worry and wonder if you'll flip again..."

"Hey..." Adrien starts quietly, with startling clarity. "Is this about The Bubbler thing again?"

Nino sighs, turning to him with a smile that's more grimace than anything. "Yeah, course it's The Bubbler thing."

"Nino..."

"I literally held our class hostage, bro. And tried to kill everyone. That's..." The way Nino's eyes darken in guilt, before he darts them away to stare down at the lunch table, is heartbreaking.

Adrien puts a hand on his best friend's shoulder. He opens his mouth to start comforting the other teen, but Marientte surprisingly beats him to it.

"It's Hawkmoth's fault, not yours, Nino," the half-Chinese girl states firmly. "He turned you into the worst version of yourself, but that's on him, not you! You're a great friend anyways."

Adrien feels the tension leave Nino's shoulders. "Yeah...?"

"Of course!" she chimes with a smile. "You've put up with me being mad clumsy all these years, after all! That makes you the greatest."

"If Marinette says it, it's true. She's our everyday Ladybug, after all. You're the greatest," Adrien tells Nino kindly, rubbing his shoulder, before turning to shoot Marinette a grateful smile.

Marinette smiles back at him softly, cheeks faintly pink, but there's no other show of her nervousness. No stutters, no wildly darting her gaze away. Just steady eye contact and a look of understanding.

Adrien is overjoyed at Marinette finally managing to get over her nerves around him. It's amazing progress, and it warms his heart.

His heart warms even further when Nino slings an arm around his shoulders and brings him into a side hug.

"Alright, dudes, no need to gang up on me! I believe you," Nino says brightly with a laugh.

"Good. I'm glad," Adrien says, overwhelmingly fond.

Adrien really hope he does. Believe them, that is. Because Adrien will say it a thousand times if he needs to. Nino is the greatest friend Adrien could ever ask for.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get some platonic ladynoir, Adrien getting some character development, shenanigans with Evillustrator, and more gay. All according to plan.


	3. Princess Fragrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of 4 that I wrote on my phone! 
> 
> I sort of...fused together the two Christmas episodes into one for the beginning of this chapter. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Adrien sort of wishes he didn't have to keep his superhero identity a secret, because he's _sure_ this would make a great story to tell to Nino later.

Seriously, a Santa Claus Akuma? That's comedy gold, right there. You can't just make that shit up.

"Y'know, I didn't realize Santa Claus was an Akuma," Chat Noir jokes to Ladybug as they run after the villain. "That explains why I never see him around, though, during the holidays."

"You sure it wasn't because you've been on the naughty list?" his partner teases with a snort.

"I'll have you know, I'm the perfect son!" Chat Noir says with a dramatic gasp, only to make Ladybug drop into peels of laughter. "I am revolted, I'm offended, I dedicate my life to protecting Paris and _this_ is the thanks I get?"

"Sorry chaton," Ladybug manages to say through her mirth.

"I'm sure you've been on the naughty list before, with that sort if attitude, milady."

"Santa Claus is a construct created by Western Capitalistic society," Ladybug retorts primly, with a smile. "I'm afraid I haven't believed in him for a few years now."

"That's fair," he laughs, skidding to hide behind an outcropping. "Let's wrap this up. I'm celebrating the holidays with some friends, and they might worry if I don't show up."

"Same," the heroine nods. "Lucky Charm...!"

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!" Adrien huffs, stumbling into the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"Adrien!" Nino calls, getting up from his seat and going over to help him with the tote bag he was lugging around. "I was starting to think your old man made you cancel, dude."

"We hardly do much for the holidays in the first place. I'm half convinced he doesn't even know today is Christmas Eve," Adrien says with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, only partially joking. "Anyways, I brought presents?"

"You didn't have to!" Marinette cries out, almost tripping over her feet as she helps Adrien with his coat.

"I thought we agreed on not getting gifts?" Alya asks pointedly. "'Cuz, I'm sorry to say, but the only present I've got on me is my presence."

"I know! I know we agreed not to, but..." Adrien starts, sheepish, "Um, I got a little excited. I had these purchased at the start of the month before we agreed on no presents, so..."

"Dude, you already gave everyone in class a box of fancy candy canes before break," Nino points out, laughing and sitting down, placing the tote inbetween his and Adrien's seats. 

"Well, those were gifts for my classmates. These are gifts for my close friends," the blond says, feeling a little nervous. "If you don't like it, you don't have to take them—"

"If Mister Model here wants to spoil us, I say we should let him," Alya cuts in.

"Alya!" Marinette yelps, looking scandalized.

But Adrien just laughs. "I do! I want to spoil you guys. You're... You're my first friends... And I know these gifts won't make up for how much your friendship really means to me, but I just wanted to try and show it, y'know?"

Adrien looks around the suddenly silent table. Nino, Alya, and Marinette are staring back at him with warm and touched looks. Marinette in particular has pink cheeks and looks ready to cry at any second.

"Dude..." Nino starts quietly, putting a hand on Adrien's shoulder. "You mean a lot to us, too."

And then Nino was bring him into a hug. Adrien hears chairs scraping, and feels two more bodies curl around him. His eyes burn and his breath shakes, as he realizes how safe and warm he feels, in their collective hug.

This was his first Christmas without his Mother, after all. The first after her disappearance. If Adrien sniffles and has to wipe his face after their hug, well, his friends are nice enough to not point it out or stare.

He's not used to this. Used to warm affection given so freely, a warm room with the table full and conversation loud and lively. Holidays at the manor are always quiet and reserved affairs, though old photo albums revealed that they weren't always that way.

The hot chocolate and Christmas cookies they eat are warm and perfect and the most delicious food Adrien has ever eaten during Christmas.

After they've had their fill of hot chocolate and cookies, his friends open their gifts, smiling and chattering as they compare the colors. Adrien bought them scarves to match the blue scarf Father gifted him during his birthday. Pink for Marinette, orange for Alya, and green for Nino.

"Dude! Green's actually one of my favorite colors," Nino laughs, wrapping the material around his neck. "How's it look?"

"Very warm and stylish. You make the perfect model," Adrien compliments with a grin.

Nino blinks back at him, before laughing bashfully, cheeks darkening with a blush. "C-C'mon, dude, you're the model not me, I—"

"I'm serious! It looks good on you," the blonde insists, knocking their shoulders together. "All the scarves perfectly match their new owners."

"I dunno, it feels like Adrien's and Nino's should be switched," Alya pipes up, moving her finger between the two. "Since Nino usually wears blue, and the green matches Adrien's eyes scarily well."

"Ooh, I can see that," Marinette nods along, a finger on her chin, before getting embarrassed. "N-not that the scarves don't look nice normally! Blue is a good color f-for Adrien, and green's nice for Nino!"

"Well, I guess you'll be cursed to always have to think about me when you wear that scarf, then. Sorry," Adrien says jokingly with a wink to his best friend.

Nino huffs out a laugh, shoving at his shoulder. "I'll be thinking that anyways 'cuz it's your present, you dork."

Nino doesn't return the gift. He wraps it loosely around his neck, as the group of friends exit the bakery.

Before Adrien walks back to his car, he grabs Nino's shoulder. "Here, lemme..." he trails off, fixing the green scarf in place, so it stays nice and warm around Nino's neck. "There! You're all good to go!"

He smiles up at his best friend. Nino's entire face is flushed from the cold of the Winter evening. "Don't want you catching a cold now, huh?"

"Like I'm catching a cold with this new scarf," Nino jokes back with a laugh, stepping back from Adrien's grasp. The blond instantly feels the loss of body heat. "Try not to catch a cold, either, alright?"

"Will do. See you after break!" Adrien waves, watching Nino wave back before turning around and walking down the sidewalk. One of Nino's moms was waiting in the car behind Adrien's to take them back home, and the woman smiles and waves at the blond.

The model waves back at the woman before quickly going to his limo, acutely embarrassed at the vehicle taking up so much space on the sidewalk.

"I'm ready to go, Gorilla!" he says quickly after buckling up.

His bodyguard grunts, pulling away from the curb. The usually gruff man is smiling as he looks at Adrien through the rearview mirror. Adrien smiles back, feeling happy that the man approved of his friends. Sometimes, it almost felt like Gorilla was more of a father to him than his actual Father...

Adrien settles into his seat, giddy and already ready for Winter break to be over. Soon after they get back to school, it's Nino's birthday, and Adrien already knows what he's going to give his best friend.

* * *

Adrien settles down at his desk with his stationary set and one of his special calligraphy brush pens, the ones that were gifts from Father. He takes out a piece of fine stationary, the kind he uses for Important Letters.

He's going to make Nino a card for his birthday. He has a gift picked out already—a new music editing software to help Nino with his remixes— but he needs a card to go with it .

He wants to make the card himself for Nino. It's more personal that way. He's written and rewritten what he wants to say a dozen times in his school notebook, to get the words right. 

Nino's his best friend. He deserves the world, and then some. But for now, Adrien can give him a gift and a nice, handmade card.

Adrien hasn't made home made cards since... since Mother disappeared. He made her countless every year, for her birthday and Easter and Mother's Day and Christmas. She'd kept them all. She had them in a jewled wooden box on her bureau, and she'd always show them to Adrien when she put the newest card away after admiring it.

Adrien uses his best penmanship on Nino's birthday card, trying to follow his script. Every time he makes a mistake, he huffs and picks up a new piece of stationary and tries again.

It takes him a few tries, before he gets it perfect. He carefully pushes back from his desk, allowing the ink to dry on the stationary.

He reads the card again, just in case.

_Happy birthday!_

_It's been a crazy last few months. A lot's happened since the start of the school year. Some bad, but a lot of good, too! I met you, after all._

_Meeting you was probably the best thing that's happened to me. You've been such an amazing friend! You're always ready to help me. I'd be lost without you. Not just fitting in at school, but in life, too._

_I'm glad I can call you my best friend, Nino. And I hope you have an amazing birthday. You deserve it!_

_—Adrien_

He's careful as he searches for an envelope, careful as he writes Nino's name in his best flowing calligraphy on the white surface. Takes him three tries until the envelope is perfect, the curl of the end of the N lining the rest of the name and the i dotted in a little oval.

Adrien is restless as he waits for the ink to dry, but he waits, and he carefully breathes over the stationary. He holds it up to the light to check the letters are matte instead of glossy, and nods to himself.

He slides the card in the envelope, careful as can be. He closes it shut, putting a little golden star sticker to seal the flap closed, and then brings the envelope up to kiss the seal.

It's something he's always done with Mother's cards, as long as he can remember. Something he picked up from her, he's sure, though he can't even remember if it's true, it happened so long ago. Sealing a card with a kiss, sealing it with one's love, because putting love into letters or cards for the people you love makes those items even more precious.

Adrien doesn't question why his face feels warm and his lips linger on the envelope for longer than necessary. After all, he's never had a best friend before, a best friend to give cards sealed with a kiss to.

He ignores the little logical voice in the back of his head that reminds him of Felix and Chloe being his old best friends. One was his cousin and the other was a childhood friend that fell out of his good graces, so they don't really count. No matter if he made them both cards as well and never got embarrassed by it...

* * *

Adrien's palms are sweaty as he fumbles around in his book bag. He grips the edge of the white envelope carefully, and pulls it out.

"Uh, is this a letter or something?" Nino asks a little jokingly as Adrien slides half of his gift onto his friend's desk. The next half will be handed over during lunch, wrapped up, when Nino has time to admire it.

"Card, actually," Adrien retorts lightly, heart beating quick in his chest. "Most of my stationary's for letters, though."

"Bro, you made me this card yourself?" Nino asks, turning bright eyes towards Adrien, mouth split into a wide grin. He shifts his grip on the envelope, holding it carefully up to his face. "Wow, this calligraphy is really pretty."

"Thanks," the blonde says, cheeks going warm from the praise. "Maybe next year I'll buy stationary that's more like an actual card? Anyways, yeah, I did all the calligraphy and stuff myself."

"That's amazing!" the cap-wearing boy says, voice as warm as his eyes as he looks back at Adrien. "You really didn't need to do all this. I feel kind of spoiled. Thanks, dude."

Adrien finds himself laughing, nerves fluttering in his stomach. "You haven't even read the card!

"Well. You made it," Nino shrugs, looking down at the envelope, turning it in his hands. "So I'm digging it already."

Adrien is too stunned to form words in response, so he just lets the birthday card do the talking for him.

Nino reads through it. Adrien waits with baited breath.

When Nino finishes reading through it, Adrien knows, because the other boy brings him into a big hug. Completely unheeding of the awkwardness of being half-turned in their seats, sitting at the front of Homeroom, the bell about to ring at any second.

Adrien doesn't really mind it, however. He just hugs Nino back tight, heart full to bursting that his best friend really enjoyed his card so much.

He'd put a lot of thought, care, and love into it, after all.

* * *

A love letter. That's what Akumatizes Rose.

Rose is a girl who's bubbly and a huge romantic, in love with fairy tales and the concept that love conquers all.

Apparently, she's in love with the visiting Prince Ali. She gets Akumatized into Princess Fragrance and kidnaps the Middle Eastern prince.

Chat Noir goes to Le Grande Paris Hotel to protect the visiting prince and Chloe. They try to escape the Akuma in the prince's car, but it's an enclosed space. Nowhere to run from Princess Fragrance's perfume attack.

Chat Noir gets hit with her perfume, and then he doesn't remember a damn thing, his memory drawing up blank. He shakes his head to rid himself of the disoriented feeling of snapping back into reality, finding the ladybugs of the Miraculous Cure flitting across the street. 

Good. Looks like Ladybug managed to fix things.

The leather-clad hero goes to see if he can find either Rose or Ali, see if they're okay. Just because he's cured doesn't mean all loose ends are tied up. 

He finds them both on the rooftop of Le Grande Paris Hotel. Rose has shining stars in her eyes. Chat Noir recognizes the polite, model-perfect smile Prince Ali wears, especially with the awkward way he leans away from Rose snuggling his arm and Chloe attempting to get in his face. 

Someone who's famous and constantly has fans vying for their attention, huh...? Yeah, Adrien can sympathize.

"Prince Ali!" the leather-clad hero calls, bounding to land besides the group. "I'm glad you're alright!"

The prince's face brightens in recognition and relief. "Oh! Hello again, my cat friend."

"Chat Noir!" Rose and Chloe squeal in unison.

"Sorry, girls, but I'm here as Prince Ali's express ride. His chaperone needed him ten minutes ago," he says a little jokingly, as he easily picks up the other boy in his arms.

He waits for the other to say his goodbyes— which includes pretty much ignoring Chloe and promising to become penpals with Rose—before leaping off the hotel roof and lowering them carefully to the sidewalk with his baton.

"Thank you for all your help," Prince Ali says, with a toothy smile and flushed cheeks.

"It was a pleasure, my prince," Chat Noir replies easily with a flourish of his hand for showmanship as he bows. "Believe me when I say, I get the pains of being famous."

Prince Ali laughs brightly. "Thank you regardless, Chat Noir."

"Have a great rest of your trip. And welcome to Paris!" Chat Noir says with a two-fingered salute, quickly darting away.

He de-transforms behind the hotel dumpster. Again. He hopes this doesn't become a habit.

* * *

The next day at school, Juleka looks both horrified and horrifically sad that Rose was Akumatized. It's that look that sticks with Adrien through the day, alongside the way Juleka hovers by Rose.

The blonde gushes like a bubbling fountain during study hall about Prince Ali being her penpal. A dark look falls over Juleka's face, quickly dissipating when Rose admits the Prince wasn't looking for a relationship, but wanted to stay her friend. 

"He's super busy all the time! I'm not surprised he doesn't want to date anyone," Rose says with a sage nod.

"So you're over him? Just like that?" Alix asks.

"Just like that!" Rose chirps with a snap of her fingers.

Adrien can't help but notice the look of pure relief on Juleka's face. Maybe she's relieved a boy won't be stealing her best friend away...? But something about that explanation just doesn't seem to fit in his mind.

Alya also apparently doesn't seem wholly convinced either about the situation with Rose. 

"Homegirl literally tried to shotgun wedding a prince, and now she's over him?" the blogger asks skeptically in a low voice, adjusting her glasses as she squints over at Rose's table. "Seems sus, but okay..."

"Well, it's not like Rose ever met him before she got Akumatized, right?" Marinette points out in an undertone as the four huddle together. "There wasn't much _to_ get over, y'know?"

"Yeah, it seems more like she was in love with the _idea_ of him, and not actually him," Adrien notes. At his table going quiet, he realizes he was a little too blunt, and just a bit more knowing than he should be. "Uhhh, no offense to Rose. She's very sweet, just..."

"Gets a little carried away, with her head in the clouds," Marinette ends the statement gently. Adrien winces and nods.

When he chances a glance over at Nino, his best friend is all sympathy. "You must know, huh, dude?"

It's a genuine question, asked with genuine honesty. Adrien technically isn't legally allowed to say anything that might negatively affect the Gabriel Brand, such at criticize his young and impressionable fans. Or any fans at all, really. After all, his fans support him and his merch sales.

All Adrien can do is give his best friend an awkward half-grimace half-smile in answer. Nino, as usual, seems to interpret and understand Adrien's evasive non-answers. He nods back sagely at Adrien, clapping him on the shoulder. "That's rough, bro."

"It is rough, buddy," Adrien replies with faux seriousness. Nino snorts, breaking the melancholic spell, and Marinette giggles.

"Yeah, I dunno..." Alya says casually, after a long moment. "It feels like a friendship doomed to fail."

"Wow, that's harsh," Nino retorts, Adrien feeling surprised. "Why d'you think that?"

"Rose is still totally infatuated. And sometimes guys and girls just can't be friends, y'know?"

Nino pulls a face. Adrien feels himself frown in confusion. Marinette narrows her eyes.

"Alya. _We're_ friends with Adrien and Nino," the half-Chinese girl points out flatly. "We're girls, and they're boys."

"Yeah, I know," the dark-skinned girl raises a brow. "But I've watched enough romcoms to know that nothing's a guarantee..."

"We don't live in a romcom, though," Adrien points out helpfully, because it's something he's been learning the hard way. That his life isn't a story. Plus, Marinette looked ready to get into a debate, so it's better to run interference. "I'm a guy and I'm friends with girls, but I don't want to date any of them. No offense, of course."

"None taken," Alya says with a flippant flick of your wrist. "You're not really my type, sunshine."

"Sunshine...?" Adrien mutters.

"But when one likes the other, Mari...it makes it hard, right?" the blogger says, staring right at her best friend.

"Alya," Marinette says in a tight, careful voice. "Drop it."

Adrien is confused for the five tense seconds the girls stare each other down, before the realization hits him.

"Is this about Nathaniel?" he asks quietly, leaning forwards.

Marinette gives a semi-hysterical laugh, burying her face in her hands, ears pink. Alya gives him a Look that Adrien can't decipher, but makes him feel dumb regardless. He turns to Nino for help, but the other is staring holes at Marinette, oddly intent and tense.

When the half-Chinese girl looks up, she looks completely Done as she states, with complete certainty, "He's just a friend."

Nino relaxes instantly, smiles, and nods. "Cool." Marinette smiles back at him, tired and awkward. Alya is looking between them with raised eyebrows looking like she's invested in a soap opera. Adrien feels like the interaction has flown completely over his head.

"Mari's telling the truth," Nino states, looking between Alya and Adrien, but mostly at Alya. "I've known her too long. I can tell. She's always pretty obvious."

Oh. So it _was_ just a weird childhood friend conversation between Nino and Marinette. Adrien didn't miss a thing after all! What a relief. 

Marinette looks equally relieved. She slumps down in her seat with a groan. "I need a nap."

Alya laughs and rubs her back. "Sorry for stressing you out, girl. Take a nap. I'll wake you when study hall is done."

Marinette stays quiet for all of three seconds before saying, "Deal. You're forgiven", and then promptly burying her face in her arms, settling into the tabletop.

Wow. If that wasn't a Mood. 

"Wish _I_ could nap," the blond finds himself muttering.

"Why don't you?" Nino asks him quietly with a little grin. "I could wake you up."

"I hate getting cricks in my neck," Adrien confesses, a bit embarrassed for sounding so whiny. 

"Just use my shoulder," Nino offers offhandedly. 

Adrien's stomach does a weird swoopy sensation, but he ignores it in favor of sliding down a bit in his seat and laying his head tentatively on his best friend's shoulder. He feels a little silly as he does. But more than anything, he's reminded of accidentally sleeping on Mother's shoulder when he was a child, stubbornly trying to stay up late to accompany her so she wouldn't be lonely.

"Thanks, Nino. I'm beat," he says with a bit of a yawn tickling his throat.

"No prob," Nino whispers, after a pause. By then, Adrien is lulled to sleep, too tired to note anything past Nino going stock-still— as if he wasn't breathing whatsoever—under Adrien's cheek.

* * *

Adrien has his cheek propped up on his hand when he gets paired up with Nathaniel for an in-class Science assignment.

Adrien waves goodbye to Nino, picking up his materials to sit in the back with the socially anxious artist.

Apparently today, Mendeleiev is pairing people up based on grades, from what he can tell. He's got the second-best grade in class, and he's with Nathaniel, who used to be failing it not long ago. Max is paired with a relieved-looking Kim. Alix, who's in third, is helping Nino.

And it also seems like their teacher has given up on parting Sabrina from Chloe, because they're both paired as well. 

Nathaniel smiles shyly at Adrien when he takes a seat. The artist is hunched in on himself and tapping his pencil against his notebook in a jittery _tap-tap-tap_.

"We'll get through this assignment, no problem," Adrien tells him, to be encouraging. "How about we start with the stuff you know?"

Nathaniel has a hard time explaining himself, it becomes quickly apparent. Either that, or he maybe just has a bad time talking in general. He fiddles with his pencil while he talks, knee bouncing.

Adrien is suddenly reminded of Marinette's restlessness and inability to sit still. A thought hits him. "Instead of trying to tell me facts about the cell, why don't you draw it out?"

Nathaniel blinks back at him, blue eyes wide and mouth parted in a small 'o'. He quickly nods, tearing out a sheet of paper from his notebook, and starts drawing. 

Nathaniel is swift as he draws, pencil all but dancing across the page, an illustration unfurling before Adrien's eyes. It makes perfect sense an artist like Nathaniel would be a visual learner. He manages to draw out the parts of the cell rather well. 

"This looks great! And you've labeled most of the parts correctly, too," Adrien smiles back encouragingly.

"It's easier to draw things out..." the redhead admits quietly with a little smile. 

"Well, if you draw and label the stuff on our final worksheet, I can write the descriptions. That should be an even split of work. Sounds fair?"

Nathaniel lets out a relieved sigh. "Yeah, sounds good."

Adrien realizes, as they work, that he hasn't really talked to the artist since his Akumatization. Hell, he was Chat Noir, his other identity, when he did it.

"Um... I know it was a while ago, but..." Nathaniel starts, Adrien startling, surprised the introverted artist would begin the conversation first. "Thank you for the birthday gift. I've used your artist pencils a lot since then..."

"That's great!" Adrien grins back. "I don't know much about art, but I do know pencils are usually appreciated by people who draw."

Nathaniel taps his mechanical pencil against his notebook, looking like he was considering something. "After we're done... I could show you some of my drawings?" the artist asks tentatively, after a long moment.

Adrien perks up, incredibly curious. "Really? That'd be so cool! I bet you're really good."

"I'm...okay. I guess," the other demurrs, cheeks flushing pink as he ducks his head and searches through his bookbag. 

Nathaniel is more than just okay at drawing. He's really quite good. 

The redhead doesn't hand the sketchbook over—fair, considering the Chloe debacle— electing to place it on the table between them and turn the pages. Adrien's greeted by drawings of Ladybug and Chat Noir in amazingly dynamic poses.

"Woah! These are awesome!" Adrien breathes. 

Adrien looks over to see the artist looking pleased and flattered. "Thanks..."

With more and more pages, it becomes obvious that Nathaniel favors one hero over the other.

"A Chat Noir fan, huh?" Adrien asks casually, trying to keep his smile small instead of too wide and goofy. "That's cool."

Nathaniel sputters. "G-girls are sort of hard to draw. N-no offense to Ladybug."

"If they're hard to draw, shouldn't you draw her more to get more practice?" Adrien points out, quick to add, "And you're not bad at drawing Ladybug or anything, either. These all look pretty nice."

The poses, the hair, the proportions are all there. Nathaniel's bumped her up a cup size and given her slightly wider hips, but it's not exaggerated by any means. It's actually way more accurate and respectful than most of the anime and manga Adrien's consumed.

The careful way the swell of her breasts and hips are drawn, the detail on the thighs, it's obvious there's attraction and appreciation there. 

But that could also be said for the Chat Noir drawings as well. His chest and abs are clearly exaggerated. Adrien may be fit, but his pecs and abs aren't nearly that rippling, and his biceps could use some more work. 

"Well. Um. Chat Noir..." starts the artist, voice small and cheeks pink. "He...he saved me when I got Akumatized..."

Ah. That makes sense. 

"Makes sense," Adrien says lightly, closing the sketchbook and pushing it back towards the artist. "Chat Noir's totally cool. Thanks for showing me your drawings, dude."

Nathaniel just hums, embarrassed, but seems to relax at how blase Adrien is acting about it.

It's a little flattering, that the artist has a crush on his alter ego because Adrien saved him. Adrien's not going to do anything with that information, but it's interesting to know. He's never considered before that guys could get crushes on him...

Hm. Guys getting crushes on other guys...

Adrien goes back to his usual seat and shoots Nino an automatic bright grin.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, pointing at Adrien: hah, gay.  
> He's so enamored and yet he doesn't even know it. Rip to Nino.
> 
> Also adding more gay into this fic with some JuleRose and one-sided Adrinath and ChatAli as well, because I can.
> 
> Added reminder that canon is just a baseline and I change shit to fit my needs and make more sense. The subplot of Chloe being able to see Tikki and kidnapping her is dumb, so while it doesn't show up here, know that I changed that.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Concerns? You know where to put them.


	4. Horrificator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 of 4 that I wrote on my phone in three days during Winter Break.
> 
> This was longer than I expected. Mostly because I got so emotionally invested in the boys.

* * *

Nino is in his element, a beaming smile on his face as he pitches a movie plot to the class for the upcoming Parisian Student Short Film Festival.

Adrien knew his best friend was talented and could do whatever he put his mind to. The fact that he's taken it upon himself to get the class organized to film something for a contest is amazing.

It's a new side to Nino, seeing him so energized, so passionate, all but glowing. Adrien knew he liked Spielberg films and stuff, would sometimes talk about this or that new movie, but never realized it was because Nino also had an interest in film.

It's another reminder that people are multi-faceted. Like how Marinette was interested in fashion design and crafts, and not just baking. Or how Alya was intense about her blog and superheroes, but could also dance. 

Adrien is learning more about his friends every day, and it makes him feel overjoyed, settles something in him. He's making these bonds. And learning new things is a reminder of all that he's gained, when before, he was so achingly alone.

They have quick auditions for roles during lunch. Adrien is good at memorization and has always wanted to try his hand at acting because of his Mother's past in theatre, so he tries out. He's pleasantly surprised Nino tells him when lunch ends that he got the male leading role. Mylene manages to get the female leading role, much to Chloe's ire. 

"I should be lead with Adrikins!" Chloe shrieks, stomping her foot, full of pure pettiness.

"Mylene actually remembers her lines," Nino states flatly when Chloe huffily gets in his face. "Being an actor takes actual time and commitment, 'specially if you're a main role."

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

"Maybe you can be the understudy," Adrien tries to appease his bratty childhood friend. Chloe instantly calms down, leaning back and pouting. Nino shoots him a grateful look that warms his heart.

They have fun with it. Adrien can't stay after school too often to help, but he makes sure to practice his lines. Being a superhero cuts into homework time and practice time, but he's determined to do well and do his part. Nino, and the rest of their class, are counting on him.

The blond has the most time to practice during lunch, reciting his lines inbetween eating, Marinette and Alya taking turns reading Mylene's lines to him. Nino grins at him warmly, praising the blond for his deliveries. Adrien just gives a laugh, flattered.

Friday at lunch, Mylene and Adrien practice together with Nino, Alya, and Marinette. Mylene knows her lines well enough, only needing the occasional line read.

Adrien needs three line reads himself, but only because he sometimes looks over at Nino to see his reaction, and the words just fly straight out of his head.

When the lunch bell rings, Nino smiles at them as warm and bright as the sun, beyond excited. "You're both amazing, guys! Practice over the weekend and you'll be great! We're gonna rock this...!"

Adrien smiles, buoyed by his best friend's words. He can't wait to see how Nino is like behind the camera as the Director.

* * *

The day Nino chose for them to start filming, Adrien brings a black blazer to wear, and also packs some dress shoes and slacks, as per Marinette's suggestions as the wardrobe person-slash-Producer.

Half their class is pulling double duty when it comes to their jobs. Juleka is their makeup artist and is helping Marinette with wardrobe, Nathaniel is doing lighting and crafts, Max is the schedule person and editor, Nino is the Director and collabed with Alya to write the script. Because Dupont is a private arts school, their class sizes are smaller than others, so less help overall. But at least most of them are willing to put in the work.

Chloe of course doesn't bother to do anything, but she's Chloe. No one really expects her to. She gets them catering of little triangle appetizer sandwiches with both meat and vegetarian options, and creme puffs for dessert, and that seems to appease the class enough to begrudgingly allow her to stay for shooting.

Mylene is a pretty good co-star. She knows all her lines, and she's got a decent emotional range. Her round face is too sweet to pull off dangerous, but she's putting in a lot of effort, and Adrien appreciates it. They also work decently well together. Mylene is a kind and hardworking girl, so Adrien has no problems with her. She gets a little self conscious sometimes, but nothing a little pep talk can't help with.

It seems like things may work out. They've got two days to film and edit, which is cutting it close, but considering the amount of times an Akuma has appeared in Dupont as of late? They're doing the best they can.

It all goes downhill when they try actually filming.

Mylene is a decent actress, but she's terrified of Ivan in the monster costume. Considering how big and bulky Ivan is, he cuts an intimidating figure for sure, but Mylene should be used to this since they're dating.

Apparently the mask is too scary. Mylene messes up the scene fourteen times in a row, and Nino looks ready to throw his cap at the floor from pure frustration.

"You're playing a hero from the special forces, Mylene. You're not supposed to get all freaked out!" Nino says with a sharp sigh.

"I-I know, but..." Mylene trails off meekly, fidgeting. 

"It's just me, Mylene," Ivan tells her, voice warm and smile encouraging. "Nothing to be scared of!"

Mylene flushes pink and fidgets further. "Okay..."

Adrien smiles at the scene. Despite the two dating for a few months, they both acted so shy around each other, as if they hadn't confessed and gotten together at all. It was wholesome.

"Ivan, you're the monster. Put your mask back on," Nino orders from his seat.

Ivan gives Mylene a sheepish smile, putting the mask back on. Mylene squeaks and takes a step back, ramming into Adrien and letting out a loud shriek. 

"This is pathetic! She's such a scaredy cat, she's scared of her own shadow!" Chloe says loudly with a scoff from her seat.

"I-I'm sorry...!" Mylene wails, turning and running out the door, sobbing. Ivan doesn't hesitate to chuck off his mask and follow after her.

" _Chloe_!" Adrien snaps.

"What? It's true!" she harrumphs.

"What are we supposed to do now...?" Nino demands, getting out of his chair and stomping over to Chloe. "You've ran off our leading actress!"

"Your so-called leading actress couldn't even finish one scene!"

Adrien watches his old best friend and new best friend yell at one another, feeling completely and utterly hopeless. 

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone startles, turning slowly to look at an unimpressed Marinette, who has her hands on her hips. "As the Producer, I say we need Mylene. So I'm going to find her. Before something happens, like her getting _Akumatized_."

The half-Chinese girl huffs and turns on her heel, speed-walking with purpose out of the room. Alya grabs her phone and follows after her.

After a long and awkward pause, Nino claps his hands together. "Alright, everyone, take ten!"

Adrien instantly turns to the refreshment table. Rose is quick to offer him a cup of juice.

"Thanks," he nods at the short blonde, then nods at Juleka next to her, before turning around and walking over to Nino.

"Oh Adrikins, did you get me a drink...?" Chloe coos, stepping into his path and batting her lashes. Adrien just gives her a flat, pointed look, and steps around her. Chloe sputters, "Hey, w-wait!"

"You look tired. Juice?" Adrien offers, smiling sympathetically at Nino and extending the cup.

Nino sighs and takes it, lips pulled up into a wry smile. "Thanks, dude."

"You're stressed out. Someone's gotta look after you," Adrien says, a bit teasing, propping his hip against the desk so he can lounge next to the other.

"Thanks," the dark-skinned boy sighs once more, taking a long drink from the cup. "It's just— we're on a time crunch. And we only get to film here until six."

"I'm sure we can do it," Adrien soothes, clapping a hand on Nino's shoulder and rubbing it. Nino's tense form slowly dissipates under his minstrations.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We can totally do it," the other nods, shooting him a small smile. "Maybe we can edit in the mask later, or just put a sheet over Ivan's head or something. That way, Mylene won't get too scared to do her lines."

The blonde gives a thumbs up and a wink. "Sounds like a plan, Mr. Director." Nino sputters out a laugh, his cheeks darkening from mirth.

Adrien is feeling as pleased as punch, until the classroom door slams open. He whirls to watch as Marinette, Alya, and Ivan pile into the room, wide-eyed.

"Mylene's gone," Ivan says, grey eyes full of fear, big hands shaking as he grips the doorway. "We can't find her anywhere."

* * *

"We gotta find her before she gets Akumatized," Nino decides quickly, addressing the entire room.

"I suggest we split up to cover more ground," Max chips in with a raise of his hand.

"Good thinking," Nino nods, squaring his shoulders, voice falling into his leaderly Director Voice. "Everyone, partner up. Don't wander off alone."

So that's what they do. They split up into groups: Juleka and Rose, Max and Kim, Alix and Nathaniel and Ivan, and the fearsome foursome.

Chloe and Sabrina decide to stay in the classroom, of course. "It's ridiculous! She'll just come crying back here later! I'm not moving an inch...!" Chloe declares.

Pretty much everyone unanimously rolls their eyes at her. Ivan just glares. Sabrina shrinks behind Chloe and gives the rest an apologetic smile and wave. 

They split up and start calling for Mylene's name, until they hear ear-piercing shrieks back from their Homeroom.

Adrien finds himself sprinting, all but leaving his friends in the dust completely. He stumbles in after Alix, Nathaniel almost running right into his back.

The blond moves aside, watching as the rest rush in. Nino's got his camera out, recording the entire debacle.

Sabrina and Chloe are gone, and there's goop that's a searing hot pink color covering their desk.

"They've vanished!" Nathaniel gasps, looking fearful as he threads a hand through his hair.

"Wait, that goo...! I saw some of the same stuff in the girl's bathroom!" Alya exclaims, walking towards it and pulling up a pic on her phone. The rest crowd around to look, including Nino recording, comparing it to the slime on the desk.

"It's an Akuma," Adrien says grimly. "It can't be anything else."

"Mylene..." Ivan whispers, face pale with horror.

"Guys, where are Kim and Max?" Alix suddenly asks. "And Marinette?"

Adrien whips his head around. True to the skater girl's observation, the three were nowhere to be found.

Before anyone can say anything else on the matter, they hear more screaming.

"Nevermind. I think Mylene found them," Alix drawls. Nathaniel whines in fear, clinging to her arm.

"Mylene!" Ivan cries out, running to the door. Alya is hot on his heels, calling out Marinette's name. Not wanting to get further separated, the rest follow in their wake.

Except Adrien makes sure to lag behind. With a heavy heart, he splits off from the group, ready to stage his own horror scene.

He finds some more pink goo, thankfully. He takes off a dress shoe, and rubs the leather over the pink substance, before dropping it on the floor. Then he ducks into a nearby locker, noting the coast was clear.

"Looks like you're in a sticky situation, huh?" Plagg drawls with a smirk.

"Looks like it," Adrien agrees readily. "Plagg, Claws Out!"

* * *

Chat Noir takes the time to leap to higher ground, sticking to the shadows, so he can take in the situation. 

Most of the exits are covered in slime. His baton doesn't do a damn thing against the material. It's solid, like cement after it dries, but even stickier than wet cement.

With his experiments out of the way, Chat Noir hopes that his partner managed to get to the school quick enough to slip inside before the Akuma locked them in, or else things will become very complicated...

Chat Noir thankfully finds Ladybug a few minutes later with the rest of the 'survivors'. She's using her patented 'leader voice' to tell the others, "We've got to calmly evacuate the building, okay, everyone?"

"No can do," Chat Noir starts, walking up to her side. "The Akuma goo is indestructible when it dries, as far as I can tell. I think only our special attacks could make a dent."

Ladybug gives a tsk. "Alright, I guess that only leaves one more option..."

"Finding the Akuma?"

"Exactly," she nods back at him.

Chat Noir turns to survey the group and blinks at the camera lens staring back at him.

"Sorry, LB and Chat, but I'm just wondering," Nino says, a little frantic, "Have either of you seen Adrien? Blonde, green eyes, about my height? We lost him at some point."

"I'm afraid I haven't," Ladybug apologizes with a shake of her head. Nino snaps his attention to Chat Noir, expression one of desperation behind the camera.

Chat Noir feels his stomach sink and his heart clench. Nino's brown eyes are intent as they stare him down, full of mingled dread and hope. 

Adrien has always hated lying to Nino, but he can't bear the genuine anguish on his face. Instead, he decides to say, "I can show you where I saw him last. It was only a glimpse, though."

Nino stares straight into Chat Noir's eyes as he says, "please". 

* * *

If Adrien thought he hated lying to Nino, he hates making Nino disappointed even moreso.

"Shouldn't he be around here somewhere...?" Nino asks quietly, so quietly, as Chat Noir leads the others to the area he used to doctor his kidnapping.

"I think I see something," Ladybug declares, striding forwards and picking up the lone, goo-covered shoe on the floor. 

"That's Adrien's!" Alya gasps.

Nino pales like he's seen a ghost, sucking in a sharp breath, eyes wide as he stares at the dress shoe in Alya's hand. "It is."

"It looks like the Akuma got him," Ladybug notes grimly. Nino lets out a loud gasp, the sound one makes when they're drowning and desperate for air. 

"H-Hey, I just had an interesting thought," Nathaniel pipes up in a wavering voice. When Chat Noir turns to survey the redhead, the artist bluntly states, "Actually, fuck this." Besides him, Alix snorts. 

The only sign something was amiss was a glob of pink goop landing on the petite boy's charcoal grey jacket. 

"HELP!" Nathaniel shrieks, as he's yanked away by a slimy pink tendril.

Chat Noir curses, bringing his baton out to act as a shield, moving himself in front of the others. The Akuma is monstrous, all pink and purple slime, with a massive maw, three yellow eyes, and an almost reptilian tail.

"NATH!" Alix yells, attempting to leap to grab ahold of her best friend, only to get wrapped up in pink goo herself.

"That's metal as hell," Juleka says loudly. Chat Noir notices how the Akuma almost seems to stumble, seems to shrink.

"Run!" Ladybug orders, while the Akuma is distracted. "This hallway is too narrow!"

The rest of them beat a hasty retreat. The Akuma roars and attempts to follow them, Chat Noir taking the rear to protect their backs.

Nathaniel shrieks and Alix colorfully swears the entire time that they're being chased. Which would be comical at any other time, but considering they're all terrified, just makes things even more nerve-wracking.

They hit the courtyard soon enough. Chat Noir turns on his heel and beats away shot after shot of goo flung his way. 

He doesn't expect the Akuma to turn around and try and sweep him with its tail. Considering two of his classmates are in said tail, Chat Noir stops swinging his baton in fear of hurting them. 

He gets slammed into a column for his trouble, covered in the Akuma's adhesive. He gasps, the wind knocked out of him completely, attempting to gulp down air like a gaping fish stranded on land.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug calls. The rest of his classmates scream in fear. Except Juleka.

Juleka just grins wide and toothy, like she's gone completely insane, and exclaims, "So awesome...!" Again, the Akuma stumbles in place. But as the others yell and cower, the Akuma seems to swell.

"Mylene, you gotta stop...!" Ivan calls out, stepping forwards and throwing his arms out.

"Ivan!" Ladybug calls out, but she's too busy using her yoyo to yank Chat Noir away from the column, and the large teen doesn't listen to her warning.

"I'm not scared of you, Mylene!" Ivan states, slowly walking forwards. "You'd never hurt or scare anyone on purpose! This is Hawkmoth controlling you, making you something you're not...!"

The Akuma growls, but it lowers itself closer to the ground. Ivan approaches like one might do if they were a seasoned zookeeper with a lion. 

The Akuma opens its giant, slimy maw, but Ivan doesn't even flinch. And then the Akuma gently licks the side of Ivan's face, before standing up and running away on all fours, Alix and Nathaniel still wrapped up in its tail. 

"You better fucking come rescue us, _or so help me...!"_ Alix demands loudly, as the Akuma makes its retreat. 

* * *

Nino is the first to speak. "We gotta go after them."

"Yeah, our friends need us!" Alya nods along, holding her phone in a knuckle-white grip, face one of determination.

"Agreed," Ladybug grunts, hauling Chat Noir up. "You alright to keep going, chaton?"

"I think I've caught my breath enough, yeah," the leather-clad hero says with a thin smile, trying to not sound too breathy.

"It's fear that gives the Akuma strength. C'mon, let's follow the trail, you guys," Ladybug says, jerking her head down the hall that the Akuma used.

The trail leads them further to the edge of school, past an employee's only door that leads down into the cellar.

"Pretty much only the maintenance people come down here," Ivan grunts, peering into the doorway carefully. 

"Well, let's stay quiet, for now," Ladybug says in an undertone.

"Element of surprise will work wonders," Chat Noir agrees, surveying the others.

Alya and Ivan look determined. A terrified-looking Rose is clinging to Juleka's arm, but the goth just grins toothily, looking excited at the prospect of more spooky shit happening. Nino looks ready to bash the Akuma with his camera, if he has to.

Their plan goes a little sideways, as plans usually do. The captives are in these sort of gross looking slime cocoons. Chloe starts freaking out when she sees Ladybug, begging to be set free, which starts a chain reaction of everyone talking at once. Very loudly.

It's no wonder the Akuma appears, from all the noise. The survivors scatter and take cover. Chat Noir hears Ladybug use her Lucky Charm, so he searches for a way to help.

He hopes the piping system above them isn't _too_ important, and uses Cataclysm to send a bunch if pipes falling on top of the monster, trapping it. 

"Someone pick a happy song!" Ladybug calls out to the room at large, like she's a musician at a coffee shop taking requests.

The cellar is awkwardly quiet for three seconds, before Nathaniel offers, "S-Sk8r Boi?"

"Dude, that is _so_ emo," Kim snorts. 

"Hey."

"Hey!" Alix exclaims, "I actually like Sk8r Boi."

"Well yeah, of course _you_ would, Alix," Kim laughs. "You're a skater!"

"I like that song," Juleka says, nodding her head at Nathaniel, her fellow emo-bang shy kid.

"Hell yeah! Avril Lavigne is cool," Ivan throws in his two cents.

"She really is!" Rose chirps.

"It's such a meme song though!" Kim retorts, "I can't take it seriously."

"I think you mean it's _iconic_ ," Alix shoots back.

"Guys. I don't think I can use us talking about Avril Lavigne in the final cut," Nino points out, half reproachful, half joking, and looking like he wasn't trying to smile behind the camera. 

"This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe cries. "The Akuma is the size of a house cat now...! Grab it already!"

Everyone in the cellar turns to eye said Akuma, which was cowering behind Ivan's leg. The big teen smiles softly and leans down, picking up the Akumatized Mylene.

At her current size, the slime monster actually looks very adorable. Even Rose, who was terrified all but five minutes ago, squeals and coos at the sight.

Ivan grabs something from the slime, and hands it to Ladybug. "Here. I think the pin I gave Mylene is the object."

Ladybug is quick to break the pin between her fingers, shrugging and throwing up the wireless mic she had summoned. The Miraculous Cure sweeps across the room, and the heroine purifies the Akuma butterfly easily.

Chat Noir does his usual fist bump with Ladybug, before darting away and slipping into the shadows while everyone's distracted. Hopefully, Ladybug can get away to detransform too.

* * *

"That was an oddly anti-climactic end to that Akuma!" he calls out, now as Adrien, emerging behind some boxes and jogging towards the rest of his classmates.

"Adrien...!"

Chloe is the first to latch onto him. Adrien quickly and awkwardly disentangles from her, catching Alya next in a quick hug before she steps back. 

And then Nino rams into him with the force of a train. 

Adrien feels the wind knocked out of him, stumbling a bit and automatically curling his arms around his best friend with a breathless little chuckle. 

Nino holds him so tight, Adrien thinks he feels his bones creak. He tries to hug back just as tight, to show that he missed Nino just as much as Nino missed him. And maybe also because he still felt guilty for worrying him, for lying to him, another tally to add to the steadily growing count. 

They stay like that, just hugging each other for however long Nino needs, before Adrien finally finds the words to speak. "Hey. Sorry, did you miss me?" he asks quietly with a smile.

"Course I did. And I was worried sick, on top of that!" Nino huffs, breath warm against his neck. "You disappearing scared me, dude..."

The blond finds his smile widening. "I'll try not to get caught so early next time. After all, I was the male lead, but ended up not lasting long in this adventure, huh?"

Nino finally lets go from their embrace, putting his hands on Adrien's shoulders and shaking his head. He's incredulous as he asks, " _That's_ what you were worried about...?"

"Well, yeah? You trusted me to be one of the main characters. And this film means a lot to you, Nino," the blond says slowly.

Nino groans, leaning down and knocking his forhead against Adrien's shoulder. "I was more worried about _you_ than the film, jerk. Why d'you got the self preservation of a lemming...?"

"Wow, rude," Adrien jokes, mouth hurting from smiling so hard, his heart all but beating out of his chest. 

He turns his gaze to survey the rest of the class. Alya is off hugging a sheepish-looking Marinette. Chloe and Sabrina are huddled together, the bespectacled girl rubbing comfortingly at a dejected Chloe's back. Ivan is hugging Mylene and talking to her in a low voice, no doubt comforting his girlfriend.

The rest of the class, however, stare back at him. When they accidentally lock eyes with him, they suddenly whip their gazes away from watching Nino and Adrien. Alix even smirks and whistles innocently when she does it, and Rose is giggling up a storm, for whatever reason. The only one that doesn't look away is Max, who has Nino's camera pointed right at them.

Adrien shoots an exaggerated wink and makes a shushing motion over Nino's head. Rose giggles even harder, and everyone is smiling and trying to keep their mirth down by biting their lips or putting hands over their mouths. 

The dark-skinned boy gives a long sigh and raises his head, stepping back from Adrien. The blonde already misses the warmth of the other's body. "Geeze, what am I going to do with you...?" Nino says with an achingly fond smile on his lips. 

"You can figure that out after the film festival," Adrien says lightly with a shrug and a crooked grin. 

Nino's mahogany eyes widen behind his glasses. "Crap, right! The film...!" He turns around, eyes roving their classmates and honing in on Max. Who still had the camera up, filming. Adrien watches in fascination as Nino's entire face darkens with a blush up to his ears. 

"H-Hey! Cut! Cut!" the cap-wearing boy says frantically, arcing his arm in a cutting motion, before running over to Max. "The Akuma's already gone— no need to keep filming!"

Max shrugs and lowers the camera with a smirk, Nino soon taking it from his hands and hissing at him in a low voice. 

Adrien just shrugs to himself and walks over to rejoin with Alya and Marinette. Alix smirks and punches his arm and Nathaniel smiles and shoots him double thumbs up when he passes them.

"I'm glad you're okay, Marinette," Adrien starts, giving her a quick hug. "I think Alya and Nino were really worried about us."

"You think?" Alya asks pointedly, hands on her hips. "Nino was ready to start tearing the school brick from boring brick to find you, sunshine!"

"Wow, really?" Adrien asks, playing up his surprise. He'd seen how frantic and desperate Nino had been with his own eyes, after all. Still, the confirmation made him oddly tingly. 

Alya just gives a groan and slaps her palm against her forhead. "My God, you're so oblivious...!"

"Hey..." he trails off weakly as Marinette snorts and breaks into laughter. 

"Just make it up to him later, okay?" Alya sighs, shaking her head.

"Okay...?"

Adrien finds his gaze wandering to Nino automatically. He locks eyes with the other and smiles. Nino quickly turns his face down to start fiddling with his camera. Adrien pouts.

Alright, he really _does_ need to make it up to Nino...

He just hopes it won't take too long. Adrien hates the thought of Nino being mad at him...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is ten times more terrifying when the person you care about most disappears while a monster is after you, and you're the camera man watching your friends be captured.
> 
> Nathaniel makes a MBMBAM reference. There are talks of Avril Lavigne's Sk8r Boi. Alya makes a Paramore reference. Chloe is terrible but makes some good points. And Adrien will forever be oblivious.


	5. Avoidance and Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter written from my laptop, who dis--
> 
> This is also the first chapter that goes a little off script. You'll see what I mean.

* * *

“Hey, Nino. Do you wanna study for the History test after school…?” Adrien asks his best friend, sliding into his usual seat next to the other at their lunch table.

“Don’t you have modelling after school? Or something?” Nino asks, studiously avoiding Adrien’s gaze.

“Uh, I mean,” Adrien starts tentatively, “I could ask Nathalie—"

“I don’t want you getting in trouble for me, dude. I’ll just study with Mari and Alya,” Nino waves him off, shooting him a strained smile, before turning his attention back to the table.

“Right…” Adrien trails off, feeling helpless as he watches Nino aggressively stuff his sandwich in his mouth to avoid talking.

Marinette and Alya start up a conversation about the most recent of Kim and Alix’s dares, trying to ease things away from the previous subject. Despite their efforts, there hangs an awkward, cloying tension at the lunch table. It’s a type of tension that’s been present for the past week, now.

Ever since Horrificator—what the class dubbed Mylene’s Akuma form—Nino’s been distant. He has no problems sitting in his usual spots with Adrien, or going to lunch with him and the girls, and it _almost_ seems normal. But then Adrien will turn to Nino to try and talk to him, and Nino will go as stiff as a board and wildly avoid eye contact.

Obviously, Nino’s still mad at Adrien for worrying him during the Horrificator Incident. Adrien can’t think of any other reason why his best friend would be acting like this.

The stiffness and clipped responses remind Adrien a little too much of his Father. Sometimes Father would show his displeasure in a mild form, without raising his voice, but speaking in such a dismissively curt way Adrien would know he messed something up. Making Adrien feel small.

And he does feel small, right now. Small and helpless, unknowing how to possibly mend things between them. He’s never really had a fight with Nino before this, just the occasional bump that quickly smoothed over because Nino was endlessly patient with Adrien’s flubbing attempts at socialization.

He hates it. Hates that Nino is acting so unnatural.

His best friend barely even touches Adrien anymore, either. Nino was a very physically affectionate person that had never hesitated to give Adrien fist bumps, side hugs, ruffle his hair, pat his back—all these little things that showed he was comfortable with Adrien. Little things that made Adrien feel all warm and fuzzy inside, made him feel loved and accepted. Now, Nino can’t even borrow a pencil from Adrien without jolting like Adrien’s skin is scalding hot as their fingers brush.

The problem is Adrien usually goes to Nino with his problems, with his questions on how to socialize, how to act like a good friend. Like when he panicked at not knowing what to get Alya for her birthday at the end of November, or anxiously wondering if he should plan what to get Marinette despite her birthday being all the way in July.

The blond always relied on his best friend to help guide him in the world, in the do’s and don’ts of public schooling and friendship. And now that Nino can barely stand to interact with him, Adrien is left stranded and drowning in the middle of the ocean of his anxieties. He can’t get advice from his best friend over how to apologize to said best friend.

Adrien bites his lip as he aggressively stabs at his salad. One week, and Adrien already misses his best friend. Despite them sitting so close, he feels so far…

Maybe he should ask Alya or Marinette for help. They were his friends, too. Maybe they knew what he could say or do to help Nino be his best friend again…?

Right. That sounds like a plan.

* * *

Adrien originally planned to talk to Marinette first, since she and Nino were childhood friends and all. Marinette would be the number one source of information on Nino, and no doubt through their years of friendship, she would know how to mend things with Nino after a fight.

The problem is that Marinette is a very busy person in general, nearly as busy as Adrien is. She helps her parents at their bakery, she’s class president and helps organize class activities and reminds them of test dates, she babysits, and she also works on personal projects.

Marinette has a stacked schedule for someone who isn’t famous, and people all seem to need a piece of Marinette’s limited time. Or maybe it’s just that Marinette is always willing to use her limited time to help others. She’s a selfless person like that, Adrien’s found. Maybe a bit _too_ selfless, even. Sometimes she comes in late to class, obviously sleep deprived and frantic, no doubt because she couldn’t manage to juggle her activities and time to get decent sleep.

Suffice to say, Adrien doesn’t really get a chance to pull Marinette aside to ask for her advice. The most time he gets with the half-Chinese girl is the times between subjects when they sit together in class, or lunchtime.

Alya is a hard person to get ahold of sometimes as well, considering she runs straight into the thick of danger for recording footage to put on her blog. She also has two little sisters she babysits often. But Alya at least seems to have a freer schedule than Marinette. So Adrien goes to Alya for help instead.

The perfect opportunity arises during one lunch hour. Nino whispers something to Marinette, and the two break off to talk, waving Alya and Adrien to go on without them.

Adrien and Alya settle into their usual table, Adrien darting his eyes to the cafeteria doors all the while. He’s not sure why he’s anxious, but he is. It’s as if his eyes want to search for Nino, even if he’s not around.

He wants to ask Alya about his Nino problem, but what slips from his mouth first is, “I wonder what they had to talk about…?”

Alya gives him a pointed look, an eyebrow raised. Adrien quickly backpedals, “I mean, it’s probably none of my business! And it’s fine if they have to talk about something. They’re friends, after all. They should get to talk to each other and not tell us everything all the time…right?”

He’s not sure where all this nervousness is coming from. It almost sounds like he’s trying to make excuses, but what would he have to make excuses about…?

“Right…” Alya says in a drawl, lips twitching into a smirk. The way she eyes Adrien makes him inexplicably feel like a rabbit under the scrutiny of a fox. “Friends talk to each other all the time, Adrien. Nothing to worry about.”

The blond hums, tapping his fingers restlessly against the lunch table, eyes darting between Alya and the cafeteria doors. No sight of Nino yet. Well, if they’re alone, he might as well ask what he originally wanted to…

“Um, Alya…I think I need some advice,” he admits to her quietly, trying to keep steady eye contact with her.

The blogger leans in and crosses her arms on the table, brown eyes gleaming with interest behind her glasses. “Ask away, Sunshine. This about Valentine’s Day?”

The question throws him for a complete loop. Adrien pauses, confused. “I—wait. Is that coming up soon…?”

Alya snorts, staring back at him incredulously. “Seriously…? It’s this upcoming Monday, Adrien.”

All the blond can do is gape back at her. “Oh…Oh _crap_ , I need to make _so_ many cards! Alya—Alya, how involved do Valentine’s Day cards get? Do I have to include chocolates? Do I pass them out during class, or after, or—”

The blogger breaks out into laughter. “Calm down, homeboy! One question at a time…!”

“S-Sorry. It’s just…This, um. This’ll be my first Valentine’s Day with friends…” Adrien smiles back sheepishly, fiddling with his fork, a gentle swell of sadness enveloping him like the sea’s tide. He feels his smile drop, as he quietly admits, “I usually make Mother a card, but…”

“Adrien…” Alya starts with a sigh and shake of her head, sounding fond as she says, “Don’t worry too much about it. I honestly think the last time I got a Valentine’s Card was in elementary school, so no one’s really expecting anything in the first place. You don’t need to get cards or hand out chocolates if you don’t want to.”

“Oh…Okay,” the blond says sheepishly, giving a nervous little laugh as his panic subsides. “Thanks, Alya. I guess I’ll just be getting you, Marinette, and Nino cards.”

“If that’s what you want,” the dark-skinned girl shrugs, giving him a look that was hard to decipher. “Valentine’s Day is mostly for romance, but some people do the whole friendship Valentines and stuff. You need any other advice?”

Adrien blinks, before jolting up in his seat, suddenly realizing he hadn’t even asked the question he’d been meaning to this entire time. “Oh! Right, yeah, um…It’s about Nino.”

Alya stares back at him intently, a gleam in her eyes. “Go on…” she says, twirling a finger around slowly.

Adrien leans in and lowers his voice, confiding, “I think Nino is still mad at me. What do you think I should do to make it up to him?”

Alya blinks back at him, before her expression turns into one of pure exasperation. “Jesus Christ.”

“L-Listen!” Adrien hisses, face going warm from embarrassment. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to apologize this entire week, but…I’ve never experienced this before?”

The other leans back and crosses her arms. “Experienced what, exactly?”

Adrien frowns back at her, confused. “Um, a fight with a friend like this? Nino—h-he’s the first best friend I’ve ever had…And I just…” he trails off, slumping and staring down at the lunch table with dread. In a whisper, he finally admits his greatest fear. “I don’t wanna lose him, y’know?”

“You’re not going to lose him,” Alya tells him firmly, with full confidence. The blogger snorts and reaches out to jostle Adrien’s shoulder, “Sunshine, you couldn’t get rid of him, even if you tried!”

“I…really?”

“Really. Nino cares a lot about you,” the girl smiles, leaning in to whisper, “Like, a _lot_. _So_ much.”

Adrien smiles, feeling energized and buoyed by hope. Then a lightning bolt of inspiration hits him, sudden and electrifying. “Oh! Maybe I can…I can do something for him for Valentine’s Day? Give him some chocolates, or take him somewhere. I can show him I’m really sorry, and he’ll _have_ to forgive me for worrying him, right?”

“Go for it, Adrien. You got this,” Alya says, grinning so wide her face looked liable to split in half, giving him double thumbs up. “Go get your boy!”

“Yeah!” Adrien says with a little fist pump, before the words sink in. “Wait, uh, what exactly does that…” he trails off, shaking his head. Never mind. It’s probably just a slang phrase Adrien doesn’t know. His friends say a lot of those around him.

His attention is soon taken up by the sight of a familiar red cap in his peripheries. Adrien snaps his head up, and promptly beams at the sight of Nino walking towards their table with Marinette.

Nino freezes in place, staring back at him for a long second, before leaning down to say something to Marinette. After that, the cap-wearing boy promptly turns on his heel and walks right back out of the cafeteria.

Adrien slumps over the table with a whine of pure despair, feeling his heart plummet to his stomach. “He hates me so much, Alya…!”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Alya says evenly and patiently, like a mother would to their child. “Don’t lose hope, Sunshine.”

“Heyyyyy Adrien…” Marinette says awkwardly. Adrien looks up at her tentatively, the half-Chinese girl wearing a supremely awkward, incredibly apologetic smile. “Nino uhhh…He had a thing. To do,” she says stiltedly and very unconvincingly.

“He’s avoiding me, isn’t he?” the blond asks glumly, groaning and hanging his head at the frozen look of guilt on Marinette’s face. He gives a whine, loudly bemoaning, “Uuuuugh… Valentine’s Day can’t come fast enough!”

He hears Marinette choke, as well as Rose squeal loudly and Alix yell from a nearby lunch table, “HELL YEAH KIM, GIMME THOSE TWENTY EUROS”.

Adrien quickly looks up at Marinette in alarm. Alya was smacking the sputtering half-Chinese girl on the back furiously to help her. “Marinette, are you okay?!” he yelps, concerned. Marinette just gives him a thumbs up, coughing furiously into the crook of her elbow, her entire face pink.

The sound of skates against linoleum is the only warning he gets before an arm hooks around his neck. “You just won me twenty euros, dude!” Alix says loudly into his ear, cackling and giving him a noogie. “Congrats, by the way!”

“W-What—Alix—” Adrien sputters, finding himself laugh at the strangeness of situation. He hadn’t thought he was close enough to the skater to have her put him in a headlock and mess up his hair like this.

“Good luck with winning him over!” the girl hoots, finally letting him go. Adrien awkwardly turns to smile at her confusedly, and she just beams back at him, blue eyes glittering. “See ya!”

The girl turns and skates away like a speeding bullet, Kim quickly getting up from his seat to chase her down while hollering all the while. Which is just a regular occurrence for them. But when the model looks over at the lunch table they left, Rose, Juleka, Nathaniel, and Max smile over at him. Nathaniel flashes him double thumbs up, and Rose squeals, and Juleka and Max nod their heads at him. Which, alright…?

Adrien is bemused more than anything. He turns back to Alya and Marinette, Alya smiling after the retreating skater and jock. “That was…interesting.”

“Adrien,” Marinette starts, very seriously, eyes calculating as she leans forwards. “I need you to tell me _everything_.”

* * *

Marinette stares blankly back at Adrien after he’s told her everything.

The half-Chinese girl stares. And then stares some more. And then she turns to Alya to her left, and states, “What the fuck.”

“That’s what _I_ thought, girl,” Alya says with a snort. Adrien tries not to be offended.

“I just want to strengthen our friendship!” he hisses at them, unable to fight off a pout.

“Is that what they call it nowadays?” Alya drawls. Adrien just pouts even more. He’s not sure why his friends are roasting him like this. What did he say wrong…?

“Adrien. I’m going to do everything in my power to help you and Nino,” Marinette states with conviction, putting a hand on top of his, eyes like twin flames.

The blond sighs, giving the half-Chinese girl a relieved smile. “Thank you.”

“You two need all the help you can get,” the blogger says with a shake of her head and a smile. “Count me in, too.”

Adrien beams at them. With two of his friends on his side, things should end up going perfectly…!

* * *

Things are going terribly so far. Nino keeps pulling Marinette aside during lunch, disappearing altogether until classes start again.

This doesn’t leave much time with Marinette for her to eat lunch and help Adrien brainstorm on Operation Win Nino Over. Which is a name that Alya picked and Adrien shrugged and went with, because it sounded appropriate. He _was_ trying to win his best friend over once more so they could keep being best friends, after all.

Adrien had countless questions. What should he wear? What type of chocolates would Nino like? Should he even buy Nino chocolates? Should he try and make reservations somewhere?

The girls answer his exceedingly nervous questions with much aplomb, though some of the suggestions clash. Alya tells him he needs to dress decently but not too fancy, because they’re still going to go to school. Marinette waves this down and tells Adrien to just dress to his comfort level—but also to wear a certain pair of dark navy jeans Adrien has worn sparingly, because every time he wears them, the giggles of his admirers triples.

Marinette tells him that Nino isn’t picky when it comes to chocolates, but he’s a particular fan of truffles and caramel-filled chocolates, which the blond writes down on his phone to remember. If Adrien would like to buy chocolates, he can, since most people enjoy chocolates. Though Alya butts in and tells him, yes, he’s obligated to buy the chocolates.

The two girls agree that, no, he shouldn’t make reservations. That just creates _expectations_. Said in an emphasis, for whatever reason, but Adrien believed it to be important.

“Besides, you’re used to bougie places, Adrien. And lemme tell you, Nino’s gonna be mad uncomfortable if you take him to a ritzy restaurant,” Alya points out quite logically. “He’ll be intimidated.”

“Businesses will be busy during Valentine’s Day, but I think a normal café could work, or even just a walk in the park,” Marinette adds. “Simple’s good with Nino.”

Adrien is exceedingly grateful for their advice, because he was very close to making reservations and wearing a tux. But, no, they’re right. Nino would feel really out of place, forced in that sort of situation.

The days pass quick, too quick. The last school day of the week, Marinette is once again swept away by Nino. As Adrien and Alya settle down at their lunch table, Alya presents him with a pink, heart-shaped card. “Here you are! Nino’s card. Now you just have to write what you want inside it.”

“This is perfect!” Adrien exclaims, beaming. He takes the card from his friend, before realizing something. “Hey, there’s only one of these. I was planning on giving you and Marinette cards, too, remember?”

“And you can still give us cards,” Alya starts with a flick of her wrist, “but you want Nino’s to be extra special, right? Well, here you go.”

“I don’t want to play favorites…” the blond trails off, even as he imagines presenting the card to Nino, his heart fluttering in his ribcage all the while.

“It won’t be playing favorites! After all, you’re doing all this for him, right…? Just think of this as an extra little ‘oomph’, huh?” she says with a playful wink, wagging a finger around. “Now, you better hide that in your bag or locker so he doesn’t see it. It’ll ruin the surprise.”

“Right, okay. I’ll do that before lunch ends,” he nods, smiling brightly back at the blogger. “Thanks a lot, Alya. You’re so crafty!”

“Don’t I know it,” she says with a foxy smirk, eyes gleaming behind her glasses.

* * *

The fresh ink gleams on the card’s surface. Adrien lets out a shaky breath and caps his brush pen.

He’d only had one card to work with, so he’d been extra careful, had been meticulous with his calligraphy.

Adrien re-reads the entry, despite having crafted and reread it extensively already before writing it down on Nino’s card.

_Nino,_

_I know we’ve got our differences. I know sometimes I can be super dense when it comes to talking to people, that I’m naïve with how I see the world._

_But I do know something: you’re one of the most important people to me!_

_You’re always there for me. You’re like my guide, or my guardian angel, looking out for me. Making sure I don’t hurt others or myself. But most important of all, you’re my partner. It feels like we’re equals…_

_All our differences don’t matter, when I’m with you. I can be myself. I don’t have to put on a mask with you. You see me for me, and you won’t shame me for what you see. You’re patient, and kind, and loyal. And even if I mess up, you’re always willing to tell me how to be better!_

_You make me better, Nino! I just hope you’ll let me show you I can be better, too. Support you like you’ve supported me this whole time._

_Maybe after this, our relationship can evolve. I’m excited to see the next level we reach together!_

_Lots of love,_

_—Adrien_

He’s glad the card Alya gave him was larger than a normal card, because fitting all of this would have been a hassle otherwise. If he had to write any smaller, there’d be more chances of him smearing the letters and messing up completely…

He double-checks that the calligraphy is dry. When it is, he gently closes the card.

It’s not a typical card with an envelope, so there’s no need for him to seal it with his usual kiss, as is tradition. But he does anyways, raising the card to gently kiss the middle of it, face warm as he does so.

Adrien sets the card down and lets out a long sigh. Making a Valentine’s card has never been so stressful, but Nino was worth it.

* * *

It was Monday. Valentine’s Day.

Adrien has his cards and chocolates ready. He’s wearing a comfortable outfit with the dark navy jeans as suggested by Marinette. For strength, he’s also added the medallion Mother gifted him to the outfit. It’s something precious he wears very rarely, afraid of damaging it. Today, he needs the strength of his Mother, so he keeps it close to his heart, under his shirt.

Adrien is all jittery nerves, stomach quivering. He forces himself to eat breakfast, and does a few breathing exercises to calm himself down.

Gorilla and Nathalie look at him with mingled sympathy and pity. No doubt they think he’s nervous of being bombarded by admirers with valentines the second he steps out the door. Any other day, he might be, but his worries lie with his friends instead of fanatic strangers.

Adrien shores up all his courage, breathing evenly as he sits in the back of the limo. Before the car even stops fully, he hears the wild screaming of his fangirls.

Showtime.

Adrien puts on his perfect model smile and leaves the car. Gorilla escorts him to the front doors of Dupont, which only protects Adrien from the fans that have camped out his school for today, but it’s better than nothing. The school security guards are only stationed outside, so there’s no hope of them helping him once he enters. He’ll be alone. Completely and utterly helpless.

The second the model steps inside Dupont, Chloe is there with a loud cry of “Adrikiiins!”

Adrien keeps his patented model smile in place as his old friend attaches herself to his arm. But instead of gush over him like he expects her to do, Chloe hops right into dragging him around like he’s a rag doll. She barely talks to him, just stomps him through the gaggle of his peers standing around with cards and gifts, snapping at them to get out of the way. Sabrina flanks his other side all the while, a clipboard in her hands that she wields like she’s going to start smacking the surrounding girls aside if they breathe the wrong way at Adrien. It’s a maneuver that reminds Adrien startlingly of Nathalie.

The second they’re inside Bustier’s Homeroom class, Chloe detaches herself from Adrien’s arm. Without breaking stride, Sabrina joins her side, and they walk to their desk. Neither saying a word nor even acknowledge Adrien’s existence.

That’s…huh.

Adrien freezes and gapes at them, feeling like he’s accidentally entered an episode of the Twilight Zone.

“Careful, Sunshine. You might start catching flies,” Alya says from behind his shoulder. The blond jolts and whirls around, laughing sheepishly at his friend.

“Morning to you too, Alya,” he tells her with a small smile, moving away from blocking the door. The blond pauses for a second when he realizes Nino is already seated, forcing himself to keep walking across the front of their desk to his usual spot. He tries to be very casual about it, but sees from his peripherals that Nino is staring at him all the while.

“Morning,” Adrien greets the other tentatively with a small smile once settled in.

Nino blinks back at him, almost seeming dazed. He looks nice today, in a white t-shirt with an open red shirt over it. After a long moment, he gives a tentative smile back. “Seems, uh, seems like you had a wild morning, huh?”

The blond is so overwhelmingly relieved by Nino joking with him, he doesn’t stop the laughter bubbling up and spilling past his lips like champagne. “You can say that again.”

They smile at each other, and something almost seems to settle between them.

* * *

Adrien’s glad that they only have a half day of school today, because restlessness has settled in his bones, making him jittery.

The lesson today is one from their fairy tale unit. Miss Bustier introduces Sleeping Beauty to them, asks a few questions, and then assigns them reading. It’s fitting, talking about true love’s kiss breaking evil spells on Valentine’s Day. He’s sure their teacher planned that out on purpose, because they also went over the Ice Queen before Winter break.

After Bustier’s Literature class they usually break for lunch, but with a half day, they’re free to go back home.

“Wait, you guys,” Adrien says quickly, turning in his seat and hauling up his book bag. “I’ve got gifts for you.”

Adrien hands Marinette her card first, and then Alya her card. Each one has a little box of novelty chocolates to go with it.

“Thanks, Adrien!” Marinette chirps, quickly getting to her feet after handing Adrien her own card. Alya also seems ready to leave, just waiting for the gifts to exchange hands, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Thanks. Me and Mari’ve got something to do. Later!” the blogger chirps. The two girls leave cards for Nino on his desk as they pass by, beating a hasty and quite suspicious retreat from the classroom.

Adrien quickly puts the girls’ cards in his bookbag to read later. When he turns to Nino, he’s sitting as stiff as a board in his seat, back ramrod straight. “Um, Nino… I have your card and chocolates, but I was wondering…” he peters off when the other just stares back at him with a vaguely panicked expression.

“Mhm?” the cap-wearing boy hums in a high voice. “Wh-What’s up?”

“Can we go to the park when I give them to you?” Adrien asks, before quickly adding, “Or are you busy? It’s fine if you’re busy. We don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to.”

“No, I don’t. I-I mean, I do. I mean—” Nino gives a helpless little laugh, his cheeks darkened with a blush as he ducks his head down and rubs at the back of his neck. “I…Yeah. P-Park sounds good?”

“Cool,” Adrien nods, heart aflutter, subtly wiping his sweaty palms against his jeans. When he glances at the room’s exit, Alix and Nathaniel quickly duck away from spying, but not before they each send him a thumbs up. Adrien feels himself go a little warm at their scrutiny, even if he’s grateful for his classmates’ support.

The two boys awkwardly stand up and gather their things, before heading out the door. Nathaniel and Alix are very innocently looking at Nathaniel’s sketchbook not far away from their Homeroom, not at all because they’re spying, no siree. Adrien shoots his short and incredibly nosy classmates an exasperated smile as he passes them.

The duo don’t get far in their trek. Chloe is standing right as they round the corner, blocking their way, arms crossed and Sabrina by her side. “I need you to sign something, Adri,” she states flatly, without any sort of pizzazz or sugary sweetness.

Adrien blinks back, taken off guard. He glances at Nino, and decides, well. If it’ll expedite him being able to leave the school quicker… “Alright, sure.”

He grabs the Sharpie Chloe offers him, and signs at the bottom of a poster Sabrina holds out to him. He barely finishes when Chloe takes the marker back. “Thanks. Later.” She promptly turns on her heel, striding away with purpose, a woman on a mission, her friend-slash-minion skittering behind her like a shy shadow.

Adrien finds himself frowning, looking back at Nino in confused frustration. “She’s acted way different today, and it’s kind of freaking me out…”

His best friend just stares down the hallway where Chloe flounced off to, eyebrows raised so high they all but disappear under his cap. “Huh. Yeah, that’s…different.” He looks back at Adrien and shrugs, lips turning up into a smile. “That’s good though, right? Maybe she’ll finally stop bothering you.”

“I…yeah?” the blond stumbles out, because it just seemed rude to throw aside his old friend like that, but… but Nino was right. Chloe’s been making things hard on Adrien for a while now, trying to boss him around and cut him off from making new friends, bullying their classmates, getting people Akumatized…

If she’s managed to calm down, that’s…that’s good, right? It’s progress, at the very least.

* * *

  
Adrien is a little surprised at the quick progress they make in leaving the school.

Chloe and Sabrina are in the middle of a crowd of girls in the courtyard, making a scene. Chloe says something sharply, and then Sabrina presents a large poster of Adrien at them like a priestess would a talisman to ward off evil. The fangirls start gasping and crying, completely entranced. The blonde that lost the weather girl contest fake-sobs loudly and dramatically into the shoulder of the Asian girl that won, the latter smiling and rolling her eyes, the two obviously playing along to the drama of it all.

Adrien feels himself sweat nervously as him and Nino walk past. But no one gives them any mind, minus an unknown boy in a red hoodie smiling at them shyly and nodding. Adrien nods back, to be polite, and the boy goes back to writing in his notebook.

As they make to exit through the West entrance, Adrien catches sight of Ivan and Mylene speaking to one another, hovering before the doors. When he and Nino step closer, Mylene looks up, beaming at them. “Oh! Hello, boys,” she says sweetly, with a little wave.

Ivan turns and smiles at them. “You heading somewhere?” the large teen asks.

“Uhhhh, the park?” Adrien asks, a little confused when the couple move to flank Adrien and Nino, Ivan on their left and Mylene on their right.

“We were going to go in that area too! Let’s all head there together,” Mylene says kindly, before… offering Adrien a flower-patterned umbrella, for some reason. “Here, it’s really sunny out.”

All Adrien can do is take the umbrella, polite to his core. “Alright? Thank you.” He exchanges a baffled look with Nino and carefully opens the umbrella. It’s ginormous and droops down around the both of them, almost cocooning them.

It doesn’t occur to him until they’re a block away from the school entrance that no one’s been squealing out his name. And then he realizes, oh. No one can tell who he is with him under this huge umbrella, and Ivan is a big and bulky person that covers most of his left side. He was being shielded.

The model feels his eyes burn as a swell of gratefulness envelopes him. His classmates…they were all looking after him today. Making sure that he got through the day with minimal trouble. They were supporting him and his efforts to survive the day so he could spend it with Nino instead of mobbed by crazed fans.

Adrien can’t believe he lucked out with ending up in Miss Bustier’s class for his first year of public schooling. He has some of the kindest, incredibly talented, most amazing classmates he could ever have wished for. It could just be that they’ve all bonded through trauma—being targeted and mind-controlled by a magical terrorist will do that—but maybe it was meant to be.

Either way, the model is ridiculously grateful for his classmates.

“There’s a nice café close to the park,” Mylene pipes up after a bit. “Ivan’s family owns it. We’re going to go there for Valentine’s Day today, actually.”

“Oh! I didn’t know your family had a café, Ivan,” Adrien says, smiling up at the taller teen, his image of the other shifting in his mind. “That’s really cool!”

“It’s nothing fancy,” Ivan demurs with a casual shrug, the edge of his lips curling up into a faint smile.

“They make the best coffee and hot chocolate. It’s all Fair Trade as well!” Mylene gushes like the loyal girlfriend she is. “You should drop by for a cup!”

“Will they even have tables open today?” Nino asks before Adrien can give his easy agreement. “I mean, Valentine’s Day is really busy for stores and restaurants…”

“I can get you both a table,” Ivan states, nodding at them with a smile and a thumbs up. “Friend perks.”

“Oh, you really don’t have to trouble yourself,” Adrien says quickly, even though he thinks the idea is absolutely _perfect_. “I mean, I’d really like to visit, but I don’t—”

“I could go for a coffee,” Nino cuts in, before giving an awkward laugh, staring sheepishly back at Adrien, “Sorry, unless you, uh. You don’t want to get a drink? If not, we can just, uh, go to the park.”

“No! No, I—coffee sounds great,” the model says quickly. “And I mean, getting a table would give more room to exchange gifts than a park bench, right?”

“Right,” the cap-wearing boy nods, rubbing the back of his neck. “Cool.”

Mylene gives a giggle. Adrien’s cheeks go warm as she turns a soft, encouraging smile to him, her round face alight. “You won’t regret it.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first chapter without an Akuma attack in it! ...Technically. You'll just have to wait until next chapter to see what happens :3c
> 
> These two boys are completely oblivious fucks and I am having a BALL writing them, if you can't tell.
> 
> If you want to scream at me or the boys, put your comments below.


	6. Dark Cupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Dark Cupid!!! Hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

Adrien’s not sure if he regrets his life decisions, but he sure does feel awkward about them.

He and Nino are sitting at a very small and intimate two-seater table outside of Café Crème Brule, the place Ivan’s family owns and runs. Like he’d offered, the large teen had procured a table for the two friends surprisingly quickly despite the lunch rush, before disappearing inside not long after with his girlfriend.

Mylene shoots the model a thumbs up behind Nino’s back before she enters the café, and Adrien smiles back at her weakly.

“So…” Nino starts, fiddling with the collar of his red shirt and looking anywhere but at Adrien. “H-How d’you take your coffee, anyways?”

“With enough sugar to kill a man,” the blond jokes, just to get some sort of reaction.

The other snaps his gaze to Adrien, sputtering out a laugh. “Hah…! No way!”

“Well, if I could get away with it, I would,” Adrien shrugs, leaning his arms on the table. “Coffee’s too bitter without sweetener. But I’m not allowed free reign of the sugar bowl, ever since I ate from it straight with a spoon when I was, like, four.”

Nino just laughs harder. Adrien smiles, relieved at seeing the tension finally leave his best friend’s form, pleased at making the other so happy with a dumb joke and an anecdote of him being a dumb kid.

It gets easier after that. The tension broken, the two start making small talk. It’s the first time Nino’s been so relaxed and comfortable around Adrien since the Horrificator Incident. It makes Adrien feel over the moon.

They both order coffee, Nino going for a dark brew with caramel syrup flavoring. Adrien meanwhile gleefully orders the sugariest monstrosity on the menu— some sort of iced coffee with a number of syrups, topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips and chocolate sauce and caramel.

“You’re gonna go into a sugar coma, y’know,” the cap-wearing boy snickers as the blond vibrates in his seat at the thought of drinking something so completely and utterly breaking his diet. No, not just breaking it. Smashing it into smithereens with delicious sugar and caloric intake.

“It’s gonna be _awesome_ ,” Adrien states vehemently with a bit of rapture.

Nino shakes his head and smiles back at him, something fond that makes Adrien’s stomach flip. “You don’t even need all that sugar. You’re sweet enough already.”

The model gives a bashful chuckle, scratching at his cheek, which feels blazing hot under his fingertips. “C-C’mon, Nino, you’re making me blush…”

The way the other looks back at him is achingly soft. The set of his lips, the way his eyes crinkle, how his eyes look like chocolate coins with flecks of butterscotch, ready to melt on one’s tongue. If his look could be translated into a physical sensation, it would be being gently wrapped up in a hug, warm and soft and _safe_.

Staring into Nino’s molten chocolate eyes, the blond’s suddenly reminded of the chocolates he still needs to give the other.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” he yelps, diving down to search through his bookbag. “Here, I’ve got—got your cards and chocolate, hold on…”

Adrien grins brightly as he sets the box of caramel chocolates down in front of his best friend. It’s a box with a transparent top, wrapped in a golden ribbon, the chocolates cushioned in golden paper. Very classy, and relatively plain—at least, plain compared to the other orders on the chocolates catalogue Adrien had perused. “They’re caramel filled! I hope you like them. I asked Marinette about which ones you’d like, just in case.”

“You…You asked Marinette about this?” Nino asks quietly, eyes wide behind his glasses, gaze drifting down to the box.

“Of course! I wanted to get you the perfect chocolates,” he nods, before finally slipping Nino’s card across the table. “And here’s your card! I—I hope you like it…”

Nino stares down at the card. The pink, heart-shaped card that Alya had given Adrien to give to Nino. A card that Adrien very carefully wrote a very long and gushing message inside, all but pouring his heart out to his best friend, the person he can safely say he cares about the most outside of family.

A wave of nerves sweeps in, crashing against Adrien’s chest, as the seconds drag on with no reaction from the cap-wearing boy. “Uh…It’s fine if you didn’t get me a card or forgot—"

The other snaps his gaze up, face darkening with a blush. “No! No, I do, I— wait, crap—I’ve got your stuff too, dude, hold on—” And then all Adrien could see was the other’s cap as he all but dove under the table to grab his backpack.

“I-It’s, um…It’s not as fancy as your stuff…” Nino trails off sheepishly, voice small and shoulders nearly hiked up to his ears. But he slides a simple red box across the table towards the blond.

Adrien recognizes the treat instantly. “Chocolate covered cherries! These are my favorite!” he gasps, looking up and beaming back at Nino. “I don’t get to eat these often. Thanks so much, Nino!”

“I-It’s nothing,” Nino flusters, but he’s smiling down at the table all the same. “A-And, uh, here’s…here’s my card…”

It’s a square card, rather plain if not for the red ribbon tying it closed, plus a drawing of a heart with an arrow through it. It’s obviously handmade, the ribbon crooked and the heart drawn on with what seems like pens and markers versus it being a sticker or already pre-printed on. It looks like Nino put a lot of effort into it.

“Do you want to read yours first, or should I go first…?” Adrien asks slowly after inspecting the outside of the card, smiling and feeling warm at the confirmation that Nino put all his heart into Adrien’s Valentine. It was vilifying, easing the little voice in the back of his mind that told him he was trying too hard. But Nino was trying very hard, too. So it wasn’t shameful at all.

He glances up to see Nino once more frozen in place, blushing from anxiety and obviously not knowing what to do.

“Or maybe we can wait to read them after our coffee? So we don’t accidentally spill our drinks on them, or anything,” the blond offers an alternative easily. He wants to dive into Nino’s card already, but if it makes his best friend more comfortable to wait until they’ve already had their drinks, he’ll wait. Anything to help ease some of the other’s nerves.

Maybe…Maybe Nino’s nervous because he wants to apologize to Adrien for being distant? It makes sense, considering they’ve never had a fight before this.

The cap-wearing boy nods his head furiously, adjusting his glasses after they slip down his nose. “Y-Yeah! Yeah, we can, uh. We can wait a bit.” He still has his backpack perched on his lap, so he’s quick to slide in the box of chocolates, though he’s much gentler in putting away the heart-shaped card.

Adrien would put his gifts away as well, except screaming starts to rent the air quite suddenly, and he becomes thoroughly distracted.

He quickly pushes his seat back and stands up, looking around the area wildly, trying to find any indication of where the Akuma could be coming from. The ground isn’t trembling, so it can’t be too large, like Stoneheart. There’s no beams of light or explosions either, so no Stormy Weather or Reflekta. The screaming sounds nearby and like more is breaking out closer and closer to them, it must be fast, but _where is it coming from_?

He feels a warm presence by his side and hears Nino ask, “An Akuma?”

And then a shadow arcs over them. Adrien snaps his head up and pales as he sees the Akuma flying through the air.

“Get down!” he orders, grabbing Nino around the shoulders and launching them both to the ground, barely avoiding two arrows. Adrenaline and Adrien’s instincts kick in, and he rolls them both under the table, using it as a shield from the projectiles.

“Are you okay?” he asks his best friend quickly, placing his hands on the other’s arms as they huddle together. Nino is panting, brown eyes wide as they stare back at him, glasses slightly askew on his face. “Nino, we’ve got to get out of here. Can you move?”

“Yeah,” the other says breathlessly, nodding his head and licking his lips. His pupils are shrinking from fear. “I—Adrien—”

“Let’s go,” Adrien says, taking the other’s hand in his and tugging it. He ignores the sounds of yelling and chaos around them, only looking at Nino, speaking to his best friend in an even tone. “We’ll duck from table to table, then make a break for it and get some distance.”

Hopefully, they can leave the area and Adrien can slip away to transform. He hates the thought of leaving Mylene and Ivan defenseless, much less abandoning Nino at some point in their escape. But he has to, if he wants to protect them all.

“Alright,” Nino rasps, tugging his cap properly into place and shuffling into a crouch to match Adrien’s.

“Don’t let go,” the blond says, tightening his grip on Nino’s hand, their palms sweaty from nerves. “On my mark. One, two, three—”

The two move, skittering under table to table for cover, hands tightly interwoven. People rush past them, running and screaming and what-have-you. They pause under the last table before the street stretches in front of them, large and daunting and too empty for comfort.

“This area’s too open. Need some sort of cover,” Adrien whispers, looking over at the other teen. “Any ideas?”

“Run and take the first left,” Nino tells him quickly. “Should be a street with shops. We can duck into them.”

Adrien nods back, squeezing their sweaty hands together. “Right. Let’s go.”

* * *

Adrien feels himself sweating up a storm as he and Nino bolt outside of the café area in a dead sprint. His Mother’s medallion beats against his chest like a war drum alongside his heartbeat.

The distance closes between them and the intersection of the street, their possible salvation. They just barely manage to round the corner, before a large shadow arcs over them. The nearest shop entrance is still about ten meters from them, and the two skid to a halt, gasping.

“Adrien and Nino! Just who I was looking for!” the Akuma cackles, a muscular figure in red and black spandex and giant black wings, with a familiar voice.

Oh no. How did Kim get Akumatized…?!

“Time to break up your perfect partnership!” the villain sneers, sending an arrow at them.

Adrien steps forwards automatically to cover Nino, but he feels himself be tackled to the ground before the arrow can land.

“N-Nino?” he asks, winded as he lands flat on his back, staring up at his best friend.

Nino’s hands are on either side of Adrien’s head as he shields the blond with his body, their torsos pressed flush together. The other’s pupils are pinpricks swimming in the sea of his chocolate eyes, and his cap has been knocked off, head of cropped curls glinting in the sunlight.

And then Nino’s lips curl in a snarl, spitting tar like the color they’ve become. “You’re absolutely useless! I have to do everything for you, and I hate it…! I hate you!”

Adrien gasps, feeling like he’s been struck physically with the words, an absolute sucker punch to his stomach. “W-What?” he stutters out, his attention riveted completely by the boy perched above him, worries of the Akuma thrown to the wind.

“I hate you with every fiber of my being…!” Nino states, vehement and wild like the look in his eyes. “I hate you so much it hurts!”

Adrien lays against the hard concrete, completely paralyzed by dread. He feels his eyes burn as he stutters out, “N-Nino, wait, this—This isn’t you—"

“Shut up! I never want to touch you ever again, ‘cuz it feels like fire ants are crawling all over me when you do!” Nino snaps at him, Adrien suddenly all too aware of how the other’s body presses him against the sidewalk. “You disgust me so much, it makes me wanna hurl…!”

Adrien hears a cackling laugh through the blood rushing through his ears. It feels like a vice is squeezing his insides. Adrien fights down a sob, because it _hurts_ , it hurts so much—

And then Nino was suddenly yanked off him, going flying, the zip of a yoyo familiar to Adrien’s ears. He gasps in a breath, feeling like he can breathe again, hope burning in his chest when he hears his partner’s voice call out, “Dark Cupid…! How _dare_ you do that to Adrien and Nino!”

“Ooh, so you’ve finally shown up, huh Ladybug?” the Akumatized Kim—Dark Cupid, apparently—calls out mockingly as he hovers above Adrien.

Adrenaline and instincts force Adrien to roll over and stand, despite his battered heart wanting him to find a good place to lie down and have a nice, long cry. But, no. He can’t cry right now. There’s an Akuma he has to fight…!

“Dark Cupid hasn’t done anything to me!” Nino calls, holding the wall of the building behind him as he gets back up. “He’s just made me realize how much I fucking hate Adrien Agreste…!”

“Adrien, don’t listen to him!” Ladybug snaps, whirling her yoyo in her grip. “He’s been effected by Dark Cupid’s arrows! They make the victim hate those that they love!”

Adrien’s heart trips at the word ‘love’. But a sense of determination fills him, then. If Nino is saying all these awful things under the Akuma’s spell…It’s because he really admires and loves Adrien.

“Thank you, Ladybug,” the blond nods to her. She nods back, and he takes that chance to run away, trusting his partner to cover him. He barely dodges Nino attempting to tackle him again, his superior speed allowing him to sprint right past his best friend, who yells curses after him.

* * *

Adrien curses under his breath and runs until he finds a finds a place to duck behind—a tight squeeze of a space between two shops, too small to be even considered a custodian closet, much less an alley. Plagg flies out of his shirt when he stops and presses his back against one of the grimy walls.

“Yeesh! The amount of tension back there could’ve been cut by my claws!” the Kwami says, floating in front of Adrien’s face.

The blond chokes out a laugh, raising a hand to clumsily wipe at the tears that manage to escape his eyes. “Y-Yeah.”

“Hey…” Plagg goes on, oddly soft. “It’s okay, kid. That was the Akuma, not your boy.”

Adrien just breathes and sniffles, clutching at Mother’s medallion for strength and fighting down further tears. He’s well-practiced at speed-running through breakdowns, if not downright repressing them altogether, because of Father’s sense of tough love. So he’s stable enough after just a few moments to gather himself to say, “Plagg, Claws Out.”

Chat Noir doesn’t hesitate to squeeze out of the nook and run pell-mell towards where he left Ladybug, using his baton to lance himself forwards to gain distance.

He apparently doesn’t need to do much. Dark Cupid is very much distracted engaging with Ladybug in a fierce battle, sending arrow after arrow her way. The Akuma isn’t paying attention whatsoever to his surroundings. So Chat Noir has the perfect chance to sneak up and launch himself at the Akuma’s back, latching onto Dark Cupid and keeping him from reaching back to his quiver of arrows.

“What?!” Dark Cupid yelps, almost dropping down to the concrete completely from Chat Noir’s sudden weight on his back. “H-Hey, get off!”

“No can do, Dark Cupid! I’ve got my claws in you, and I’m not letting go!” the leather-clad hero declares with something close to a snarl.

This is apparently enough for Ladybug to do her thing. She whips out a polka dot fishing rod—obviously her Lucky Charm she summoned— arcing it and sending the lure straight at Dark Cupid. It snags something and she reels the line in like she’s trying to catch a huge bass. Dark Cupid bobs every which way all the while, attempting to reach behind himself to bat Chat Noir off, but the hero just ducks and holds tighter. It’s an interesting tug-of-war, with the Akuma trying to both wrestle off Chat Noir and yank away from Ladybug’s Lucky Charm.

After a few fierce seconds, Ladybug reels the line back, catching something shiny in her hand. A brooch or pin of some sort.

“ _No_!” Dark Cupid yells, but the heroine doesn’t hesitate to smash the object under her foot with a well-placed stomp. Chat Noir lets go of the other’s back, landing easily on his feet. He braces his knees and extends his arms to catch a de-Akumatized Kim just a moment later.

“Woah, what…?” Kim asks, dazed, blinking down at Chat Noir in confusion. “What happened?”

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Chat Noir hears his partner yell. He watches a swarm of ladybugs circle them, feels his aches from battle disappear, before darting off to fix another part of Paris.

“You were Akumatized into Dark Cupid,” Chat Noir tells his classmate, placing him on the ground.

The jock’s expression falls. “Oh…Yeah, that…That makes sense.”

“I’m sorry about Chloe, Kim,” Ladybug tells Kim sadly as she steps up to them. Chat Noir automatically curls his hand to fist-bump her for a job well done, even as he feels surprised that Chloe was brought into this. Did Kim try to ask Chloe to be his Valentine…?

“I mean, I prob’ly should’ve picked up on her mood today, before I went and confessed,” the jock sighs, passing a hand through his gelled mohawk with a look of mingled frustration and sadness. “She was acting a little off. But I was so nervous, I just wanted to get it over with and not chicken out, y’know? I think I sorta forced it on her, and that’s why she snapped, maybe?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Kim,” Ladybug says kindly, raising a hand to her beeping earrings. “Shoot, my time’s almost up!”

“Go on, milady,” Chat Noir nods at her. “Try to enjoy the rest of Valentine’s Day today, alright?”

The heroine gives him a quick smile. “Thanks, chaton. You too.”

“Thanks anyways, Ladybug…!” Kim calls after the retreating Ladybug as she swings off on her yoyo.

Chat Noir taps a clawed finger against his chin. He hadn’t used his Cataclysm, so he didn’t need to rush off right away…

“Maybe you should spend today with your friends, Kim,” he brings up to his classmate.

Kim turns to him, blinking his steel-grey eyes, a confused pout on his face. “Huh? What d’ya mean?”

“Well, Valentine’s Day is about love…but it doesn’t just have to be about romantic love,” Chat Noir tells him sagely, raising a finger. Kim’s mouth turns into an ‘o’ of surprise. “You can also celebrate other types of love, like platonic love, too! There’s no shame in celebrating today with a friend.”

“Ohhhhh, I get it!” Kim nods quickly, a smile unfurling on his face. “You don’t really have to be alone even on Valentine’s Day, if you’re with your buddies, right?”

“That’s right! Just go and enjoy today, eat some chocolates, have some fun,” the hero shrugs. “That’s what I’m planning, anyways.”

“Huh? So you and Ladybug aren’t, like…” the jock trails off, before crossing two of his fingers. “Like, together?”

“She’s my partner, but not like that,” Chat Noir says sheepishly.

Before he can explain himself further, a familiar voice cuts into their conversation. “Kim…!” Chat Noir whips his head around, watching as Nino jogs up to them. “Yo, Kim! You okay, bro?”

“I’m cool now, dude,” Kim answers, hand on his hip and tilting his head as he surveys Nino, who seems to be fine. And also put his cap back on. “Wasn’t Adrien with you?”

“He was! I was about to ask you, actually,” Nino pants, looking a little frantic, glancing between Kim and Chat Noir. “H-Have you seen him…? I blanked out during the attack, and he’s gone. I hope he’s okay…”

Warmth fills Chat Noir’s chest, as well as a zing of guilt. “Oh! I can help find him for you! I’ve got a little time left, just wait here—”

“Th-thanks?” Nino stutters.

“No problem. Don’t worry your pretty little head, now,” the hero winks, before he turns on his heel and leaps away.

The leather-clad hero makes sure to take to the rooftops, searching for a space for him to drop down and de-transform. He settles for the place he used before, as it seems empty. He lands easily on the grimy ground, murmuring, “Plagg, Claws In.”

The little Kwami zips up to his face. “It’s rare when you don’t need to use your Cataclysm! Good job, kid.”

“Thanks,” Adrien smiles back, opening his over shirt for Plagg to hide inside.

“Now, go back to your boy,” comes Plagg’s muffled piece of advice.

“That’s the plan,” he laughs a bit, looking around himself to check if the coast was clear, before jogging in the direction he knew Nino was waiting.

* * *

“Hey…!” the blond calls out as he sees an anxious-looking Nino where he last left him.

The bespectacled teen snaps his head up, giving him a large, relieved smile. He raises a hand to wave, jogging over to meet Adrien half-way. “Hey…! You’re okay!”

“Yeah, thankfully. Chat Noir found me and told me where you were,” the model lies smoothly, surprised when Nino moves in to wrap him up in a hug without hesitation.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Nino murmurs, and Adrien fights down a shiver at the sensation of warm breath tickling the shell of his ear.

“Yeah,” he finds himself saying in a rasp, before clearing his throat. “You, uh. You too. Thanks for…for protecting me, earlier.”

When Nino pulls back, his cheeks are darkened in embarrassment, and he rubs at the back of his neck. “Y-yeah, no prob.”

The two smile at one another helplessly, flustered. Adrien passes a sweaty palm against his hip, realizing his bookbag isn’t resting against it like it’s supposed to be.

“Wait, um. I don’t have my bag,” the words drip from his tongue slowly, “Did—Do you think they’re back at the café, or…?”

The other blinks back at him, realization dawning. “Oh! Oh, right. I don’t have my stuff on me either, so…yeah, I think so.”

Adrien gives an awkward grimace. “I hope no one stole them…”

“Let’s go back and check,” Nino says, jerking his head down the street, the two falling into a jog.

It doesn’t take them long to retrace their steps, thankfully. Café Crème Brule seems like it’s back to normal, the tables and chairs aligned as they were before, clients sitting and chatting.

Their table is empty when they arrive, but their bags are nowhere in sight, which nearly gives Adrien a panic attack. But Mylene thankfully rushes out of the café, calling out for them and gaining their attention.

“Nino, Adrien…! You’re alright!” the short girl says, awkwardly squeezing between tables to get to them.

“Hey, Mylene,” Adrien smiles, nerves settling enough that he pulls her into a quick side-hug. “We’re good. Ladybug and Chat Noir saved us both.”

“I’ve got your bags,” Ivan says, calmly and carefully maneuvering towards them, surprisingly graceful as he squeezes between tables. Well-practiced, like he’s used to it. Which, he must be, considering his family owns the café and all. The large teen holds up Nino’s backpack and Adrien’s bookbag, one in each hand. “Here.”

“Thank you so much!” Adrien says in a rush, taking his bookbag back with a sigh of relief. It’s good that a fan didn’t manage to snag it, or some other type of thief. Adrien had his ID and wallet in there, not to mention his homework and his friends’ gifts. What a close call…!

“Thanks, bro,” Nino says as he takes back his backpack. “You’re both totally awesome for thinking about that for us, after the whole Akuma stuff went down. You two good?”

“We were inside the café helping work on the orders, so we didn’t get hit with any arrows,” Mylene confirms with a small smile. She leans in and gives Nino a side-hug as well. “Thank you for being worried! But honestly, we were both more worried about you two being out here.”

“It would’ve been a disaster if you got hit,” Ivan nods, thick brows furrowed as he frowns, grey eyes full of concern. “Those arrows, they were making people act pretty awful to each other.”

Mylene winces and nods, adding in, “Lots of couples fighting because of it…”

Nino whips his head around to stare at Adrien in horror. “W-Wait, did I…I got hit, didn’t I?”

“You did, when you shielded me,” Adrien confirms gently, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder. “But Ladybug saved me right afterwards. She told me how the arrows made people say the worst things to those they love, so I knew you didn’t mean any of the things you said under the Akuma’s spell.

“Oh…” the cap-wearing boy trails off, biting his lip and skittering his gaze away.

“Nino,” Adrien starts, a little chiding and a lot exasperated. “It’s not your fault what you did when you’re mind-controlled, okay? We’ve been over this before.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Do you two want your coffees to-go?” Mylene asks suddenly. Adrien startles, turning to look over at the girl, completely forgetting she was still there.

“Um. Sure?” the model agrees, finding himself bustled over to the entrance without further prompting.

* * *

Adrien blinks as he and Nino are bustled in and out of the café in record time, both now holding to-go cups of their orders.

“So…How about our original park plan?” he offers weakly to the other.

Nino snorts, smiling crookedly back at him. “Yeah, okay. It’s not like we’re getting a second table. Ivan and Mylene already pulled enough strings for us as it is.”

The two make their way down the sidewalk. The blond is happy to see Paris back to normal, now that the Akuma’s defeated. No flying harbingers of heartbreak, no couples fighting because of being mind-controlled. Just a nice, sunny day.

“They did. Which was super nice of them!” Adrien agrees readily.

Nino hums, bringing his cup up to take a quick sip of his drink. He then promptly sticks his tongue out. “Ow! Way too hot!”

The blond breaks out into giggles. “You ordered a hot coffee…! Of course it’s hot!”

“Gee, really?” Nino drawls with a sassy roll of his eyes, the blond’s giggles doubling. “I didn’t know.”

It takes a few seconds for Adrien to stop laughing. When he does, he retorts with, “That’s why you need to blow on it to cool it down.” Then he sticks his tongue out at the other.

“Alright, alright, that’s fair…” the cap-wearing boy snorts, carefully opening the top of the cup and gently blowing onto the coffee. After a few seconds, he takes another tentative sip. “Ah, that’s better!”

“That’s why I got mine iced. No need to wait for it to cool down to drink,” Adrien says, a bit cheekily as he shakes his cup a little at his best friend.

“I thought you just ordered that ‘cuz you wanted the closest thing to a sugar bowl in a cup,” Nino points out with a pointedly raised brow.

He’s right, but he didn’t have to _say_ it. Adrien cheerfully ignores the other’s comment, sucking on his drink’s straw to finally try his coffee monstrosity. “Mm! Wow, okay, that’s a _lot_ of sugar.”

“See? I told you,” the other teases, shaking his head with a fond little smile on his face. “Sugar coma.”

“It’ll be worth it,” the blond retorts, hip-checking the other. Nino stumbles, sputtering out a laugh, falling back into step quickly. “The sugar and calories will give me the strength to walk to the park.”

“I’d carry you, but I think all those calories you’re drinking is gonna make you too heavy for me to try,” Nino tells him in a voice that tries to be serious, his eyes gleaming and his mouth curled like he’s trying to fight off a smile.

Adrien gasps, swatting a hand at the other’s arm. “Rude…! I’m as light as a feather!”

The other simply hums, sounding unconvinced. Adrien tries very hard not to pout. Nino turns his head to try and hide his smile, rather unsuccessfully, at that. “Yo, there’s a free bench right there. Let’s snag it.”

The first thing the two do is set their things down. And then before Adrien can react, Nino was grabbing him around the middle and hauling him up in the air.

“N- _Nino_!” Adrien squeaks, face burning, completely taken off guard. “Wh-what the hell?!”

The other laughs brightly, the sound feeling like it vibrates through Adrien’s own chest. The blond is set back down on the ground without much fanfare, his breath short and his entire body buzzing like he was struck by lightning.

“Just wanted to try seeing if I could really pick you up or not,” Nino tells him lightly with a playful grin that makes Adrien’s heart jolt, and then promptly do a set of cartwheels, when the grin turns into a smirk. “I can, but you’re definitely _not_ as light as a feather. False advertising, Agreste.”

The blond feels so flustered, he can’t even form words. So instead, he just gives a huff and turns back to the bench, sitting down and definitely-not-pouting.

“Adrien?” Nino asks, but Adrien just ignores him, pulling his bookbag into his lap and calmly looking through it. “Adrien, c’mon.”

“I’ll finally be able to read everyone’s cards, at least,” Adrien says to himself and not to Nino, no siree. “I didn’t get a chance to look at any of them earlier.”

“Right…” the other says, Adrien watching as Nino shifts around nervously in his seat. “Um, thanks again f-for the chocolates.”

The blond finds his will wavering, especially when he sees Nino’s expression turn flustered. Nino was too cute to stay mad at, even in this playful way. “You’re welcome, Nino. Thanks for your gifts, too,” Adrien tells him warmly, shooting a smile at him. The other smiles back tentatively, his cheeks still darkened in a blush. It was very charming.

Adrien turns back to his bookbag to pull out Nino’s gifts, except…They weren’t there.

The blond frowns, looking through his things a second time. Two cards from Alya and Marinette, but the white card with the red ribbon Nino gave him is nowhere to be seen. Nor the box of chocolate covered cherries that came with it.

Adrien looks a third time in his bookbag, dread welling up. “Oh no,” slips out of his lips.

“What’s wrong?” Nino asks him instantly, scooting close to him, their thighs touching as the dark-skinned boy puts a hand over his.

Adrien lets out a shaky breath. “I—your card, and your chocolates. I don’t have them.” A pause, as the words sink in. “The Akuma attacked when we were putting our stuff away. It’s all probably long gone with the chaos…”

Nino’s hand tightens around his. “It’s okay, Adrien. It’s not your fault.”

Adrien bites his lip, feeling his eyes start to burn. “But…But you worked so hard on your card, and you even went out of your way to get me my favorite chocolates…” he whispers, unable to meet the other’s eyes. His gaze lands on their intertwined hands, watching as Nino starts to rub his thumb across Adrien’s hand soothingly.

“Hey. It’s alright. It’s Hawkmoth’s fault for causing that chaos. I know you wouldn’t lose ‘em on purpose,” the other tells him, firm but gentle. Adrien raises his gaze, hit with the full force of Nino’s smile and crinkled eyes. “If I can’t beat myself up for what happened today ‘cuz of the Akuma, you can’t beat yourself up either. Deal?”

The model lets out an incredulous little giggle. “I—alright. Deal.” His insides feel warm and tingly, alongside the skin of his hand. Nino’s still holding it and swiping his thumb across it. It feels very nice.

He has to bite down a whine of disappointment when Nino finally retracts his hand. “Here. Why don’t we share my chocolates? This box is too big for me to finish on my own.”

“But—But they’re for you,” Adrien starts, confused, as the other opens up the box and offers it to him. “I gave them to you. You don’t have to share them with me.”

“I _want_ to share them with you,” the cap-wearing boy says, eyes soft behind his glasses. “C’mon, aren’t you Mister Sweet Tooth? Help me out.”

Adrien finds himself laughing, overwhelming warm and charmed. “I—alright, if you insist.” He reaches out and takes a chocolate from the box.

* * *

The two are about halfway through the box of chocolates. Between drinking their coffees and slowly working their way through it, they’ve probably had more than enough sugar for today.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go to sleep tonight,” Adrien finds himself joking a bit, as he texts for Gorilla to come pick him up.

“Told you that monster coffee was a bad idea,” Nino teases, knocking their shoulders together and snagging a final chocolate. “You’ll either stay up way late, or get the biggest sugar crash _ever_.”

“The horror,” Adrien laughs. “Me, getting a good night’s rest? Perish the thought,” the blond adds, before unscrewing the top of his cup to lick at the bits of whipped topping stuck to the straw. Not his most graceful or polite of moments, but Nino doesn’t care if he’s not picture-perfect and polite all the time anyways.

He looks over at his best friend, who startles, obviously having been staring at him. “Don’t judge me,” Adrien says with a bit of a pout. “The whipped topping is the best part…”

“I—sorry, didn’t mean to—” Nino sputters out a laugh, cheeks flushing. “Uh, I-I’ll throw your cup away for you…?”

The blond just smiles back sweetly at him and jiggles his empty plastic cup. “Will you? Thanks.”

The two get up, Nino moving to the nearest trash can to throw their trash away, Adrien closing and wrapping the box of chocolates with the golden ribbon. He hands the box back to Nino. “Well, it’s getting late. I’m afraid I’ve gotta go.”

“Oh, okay. Didn’t realize how late it was getting,” his best friend says sheepishly, taking the box and sliding it into his backpack. Adrien waits until he’s put his backpack back on before reaching out and pulling the other into a big hug.

“Thanks for today, Nino. I really enjoyed it,” Adrien tells him genuinely.

“You…You did?” his best friend asks quietly, tentatively, fingers tightening against the back of Adrien’s shirt.

“I did. It was really sweet. Literally,” Adrien teases, before letting go. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow,” Nino nods back at him, smiling shyly. Something about the expression on his face tells Adrien that he wants to say something else, so he waits patiently. After a few seconds, Nino gets out, “Hey, I’ll, uh… I’ll tell you what I wrote on the card, later.”

The blond blinks. “I—really?”

“I-If I can remember what I wrote, and stuff,” the other says quickly with an embarrassed laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck. “B-But, yeah…”

Adrien smiles, a gentle swell of warm appreciation and fondness filling him. “Thanks, Nino.” He looks over the other’s shoulder, seeing the familiar form of his limo down the path, parked and waiting.

“Sorry, gotta go,” Adrien says, even though he really doesn’t want to leave. He stares back at Nino, at the expression on the other’s face, softened with resignation but trying to stay hopeful for his sake.

His best friend’s always had a very expressive face. Adrien’s become well-versed in reading it in the past few months. And yet, every expression still feels precious for him to observe. Adrien could honestly look at the other’s face for hours and never get tired of it.

He notes that Nino has a little smudge of chocolate at the edge of his mouth. This anomaly breaks the model from the gentle spell of admiring the other’s face. Unthinkingly, Adrien reaches out and swipes it away with a thumb. Nino stills under him, intaking a sharp breath.

“You had chocolate on you,” the blond says cheekily, popping his thumb into his mouth to suck off the stray smear of chocolate. Nino’s chocolate eyes are blown wide as they stare back at him. He then walks around his stunned best friend, who looks like a statue erected in the middle of the park’s walkway. “See ya!”

Adrien runs down the park path and towards his limo, heart fluttering as fast as a hummingbird’s wings, little giggles bubbling up and spilling past his lips. He feels overwhelmingly giddy.

When he gets inside his limo, he’s beaming so hard his face feels like it’s going to split in two. He glances out of the tinted window to see Nino still standing like a statue, without moving an inch. Adrien presses his knuckles against his mouth and giggles again, the taste of chocolate still sweet on his tongue.

* * *

Adrien stares with a raised brow at the stack of Valentines on the desk in front of him, a mingled sea of cards and boxes of chocolates that was both impressive and a little terrifying. The model is absolutely sure this is the largest stack of fan mail he’s ever gotten. Have half of all teenagers in Paris sent him their love…? It almost feels like it.

“Um…What should I do with all of this?” he asks Nathalie tentatively, wrenching his gaze from the pile to look up at her.

“That’s up to you, Adrien,” the woman tells him, a faint look of amusement on her usually cold face.

Well, it’s not like he exactly needs anyone’s Valentines…Not after he already had Nino’s…

“Um, can Gorilla check the chocolates for tampering? And can I keep them if they’re fine?” he asks the secretary after a few seconds to think on it.

The woman nods at him, already tapping on her tablet. “Of course.”

Well, he’s going to be having some nice sweet treats for the next few weeks, he’s sure. Little sweets he can squirrel away in his room for some needed extra energy.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, pointing at Nino and Adrien: GAAAAAAY--
> 
> And yes, Adrien really just did that at the end there. Can't believe he killed Nino like that.


	7. Realization and Rewind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Each chapter got more and more enjoyable to write and post. 
> 
> Hopefully you like the character interactions here, because I had worlds of fun with them. So many interactions. Muahaha.

* * *

Adrien is energized and chipper as ever the next few days. It helps that Nino pays attention to him again, smiling at him and chatting with Adrien like he used to.

Adrien’s never been so grateful to have someone’s gaze on him before, but his heart soars every time he catches Nino staring at him in his peripheries. Nino stares at him double, maybe triple the amount he used to, before Horrificator. But the way he does it, the way he stares now, it’s always so…soft. With crinkled eyes and his lips curled up in a faint smile.

Adrien’s reminded of the way Mother would look down at their old photo albums, or the way she would dust the frame of her and Father’s wedding photo she kept on her bureau, gently running a digit down the edge of the understated metal…

Lovingly. That’s the word he’s trying to look for.

Nino looks at him lovingly, and it makes the blond’s heart beat in double-time. The other must care about him a lot, overwhelmingly so, if that’s the look he reserves for Adrien.

The dark-skinned boy also starts touching him again. Fist bumps, knocking their shoulders together, elbowing him in the side, slinging an arm around his neck. But every time he touches Adrien, Adrien’s heartbeat skyrockets and he feels all warm and tingly.

Nino starts doing things he didn’t before, as well. Like gently touch Adrien’s wrist, or grab and tug on it to get his attention. Or sitting close enough that their thighs press warmly together. Once, Nino even tucked a stray piece of hair behind Adrien’s ear, and the blond felt like his soul was going to leave his body and ascend to the heavens.

It’s a strange dichotomy. Adrien wants Nino to keep touching him, but at the same time, Nino touching him is maddening. He doesn’t know why. It just _is_.

Maybe he’s just hypersensitive to everything Nino does. Maybe he just really missed Nino’s warmth and warm affection.

Yeah, that _has_ to be it. Adrien is just…very excited to have his best friend back. To the point his heart does cartwheels, and he gets all weirdly warm and sweaty, every time Nino does something unexpected.

Adrien has no other explanation for this strange phenomena, so that’s what he sticks with. He doesn’t want to bother Nino by asking him. They’ve _just_ gotten back to being close again. Adrien doesn’t want to ruin what they have—not yet, not ever again.

* * *

Adrien is once again pulled from working with Nino during Science. The blond fights down a sigh, giving a ‘what-can-you-do?’ look to Nino and shrugging. Nino shrugs and smiles back at him, looking just as reluctant and regretful to part with Adrien.

Adrien picks up his bookbag and goes to sit in the back, this time with Juleka. The second of his super shy classmates with overgrown bangs that cover an eye. It’s odd that there’s two of them, Adrien had always thought with some amusement, but both Juleka and Nathaniel were really sweet. He had no qualms working with the girl that favored a gothic aesthetic.

Juleka’s eyes follow Rose with laser-like precision as the bubbly girl settles up at the front, next to Marinette. Almost protective, in a way, but there’s something else in her gaze as well…

Rose giggles at something Marinette says, before pumping her fist with gusto, obviously excited. Ms. Mendeleieve looks ready to walk over at chide her, but Alix quickly raises her hand from her seat next to Ivan, diverting the stern woman’s attention.

Adrien watches as Juleka watches Rose. The way the shy girl’s uncovered amber eye goes soft, the tilt of her lips in a small smile, how her shoulders seem to automatically relax. Juleka very obviously feels better, more confident, whenever she’s around Rose. Adrien never knew that extended to her feeling calm just by _looking_ at her best friend…

“Um, how do you want to do the assignment?” Adrien finally asks, having already scrawled the first three answers down on the worksheet.

Juleka jolts, literally shaking herself out of her reverie. “U-Um, sorry…” she mumbles, Adrien barely able to make it out. She turns and peers down at the sheet. “Oh…You already started.”

“Yeah. You seemed busy, so I didn’t want to bother you or anything,” Adrien shrugs. Juleka snaps her head up to stare back at him, and the blond gives a wince at how that sounded. “I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, I swear,” he tells her quickly.

Juleka hums at him, her face going faintly pink, gaze darting to Rose before dropping to the desk. “Sorry…”

“It’s fine,” the model assures the poor girl. “Here, let’s do the next problem together.”

They work quietly and efficiently. Juleka mumbles a lot, so Adrien shifts the worksheet over so she can write things down instead of forcing her to talk. The tension in her shoulders slowly melts away when he does this, and he gives himself an internal pat on the back for helping his classmate feel more comfortable.

They’ve got about fifteen minutes left before they’re allowed to switch back to their seats. Adrien’s gaze wanders across the room. Nathaniel is partnered with Sabrina and seems relieved, if guilty, for the easy grade. Alya and Kim are bantering over their worksheet, though by the smiles on their faces, neither one is genuinely angry or annoyed. Max is seemingly lecturing Chloe at the front, if his gesticulations are anything to go by, while Chloe has her head propped up on a hand and holds the air of someone ridiculously bored. Mylene and Nino are chatting easily together, their heads bent over the worksheet, still working through it.

Adrien’s gaze stalls on Nino. Staring at the curve of his jaw and ear, the side of his profile when he turns to look at Mylene. His best friend’s cropped curls are easier to see from behind, peeking out under his cap. The tuft that pokes out between the strap and the rest of the material looks very puffy and cute, Adrien’s fingers itching to run through the patch.

When Ms. Mendeleieve reminds the class at large that they have five minutes left, Adrien finds himself yanked from his reverie. He blinks owlishly, eyes darting over to his seat partner.

Juleka blinks back at him, a sheepish smile on her face. “We’re both disasters, huh?” she whispers to him, before snorting. “Well, I am, at least…”

“Hey,” Adrien chides quietly. “Don’t say that about yourself.”

The dark-haired girl just stares back at him. Her expression is hard to read, though that might just be because half her face is covered by her hair. Eventually, she says, “You remind me of my brother.”

The blond just stares, taken aback. “I—really?”

“He tells me not to be hard on myself, too,” she explains quietly, fiddling with her fishnet gloves, a small smile on her lips. “’m glad it worked out with you two, by the way,” she nods her head over to Nino still sitting at the front of class.

Adrien blinks back, feeling his face go warm. “Um…thanks?”

The girl sighs, her shoulders falling into a slump. “Wish I could…” she trails off, voice wistful and uncovered eye wandering the room until it falls on her best friend. And staying there.

Adrien tries to parse what Juleka means. It’s all very cryptic. But the wistfulness, the amount of _want_ there…her staring at Rose like she…

It hits him, then, that the soft way Juleka looks at Rose is that of more than that of a friend. Juleka is in love.

Oh. That…makes an exceeding amount of sense, actually. The protectiveness, the way she always hovers by Rose’s shoulder, the staring, the fond looks, the way she leans into Rose’s touch or embraces…

Well, if boys can get crushes on boys, girls can get crushes on girls. That makes perfect sense. What’s a little more eye-opening is the fact that Juleka has a crush on her best friend. Adrien hadn’t even considered that possibility, that possible overlap. Falling in love with one’s best friend.

He finds his gaze wandering to Nino, then, as if his eyes are magnetized. Nino turns to Mylene with a beam, offering her a fist bump that she returns. Adrien’s lips move of their own accord into a fond smile.

Being in love with your best friend, huh…? That… That doesn’t seem too crazy… There’s a lot about Nino that Adrien admires, so he can see how Juleka would fall in love with her own best friend…

He turns back to the dark-haired girl. “I think you can do it, Juleka,” he tells her quietly with an encouraging smile. “You can tell Rose you love her.”

“I tried. On Valentine’s Day. Chickened out,” the shy girl mumbles, wringing her hands anxiously.

“Then you just have to try again,” he states. “Rose wouldn’t break your friendship over this.”

“Time’s up! Move back to your seats!” their teacher calls with a sharp clap of her hands.

Juleka stares back at him with mild panic, but Adrien just grins and whispers one last encouragement. “It’ll be fine. Just think about it.”

He grabs the worksheet to turn in to their taciturn teacher, before taking his old seat again. He smiles at Nino, and his best friend smiles back at him, and Adrien’s heart beats in double-time.

* * *

Adrien’s heart thrums in his chest with adrenaline, smile on his lips as he sways in place, ready to dodge or catch one of the balls.

Dodgeball was always an… _interesting_ activity for P.E. It always starts with Kim and Alix being team captains, as the two most competitive and sporty kids in their class. Sometimes they were allowed to pick teams, other times they were randomized.

This time, their classmates were allowed to pick their teams on their own, without input from the team captains or their teacher, so long as the numbers were even. This led to an interesting dichotomy where Adrien and Nino stuck together, and Alya and Marinette…on different sides of the court.

Alya decided that she was willing to place her bets on Kim that day, and Marinette just shrugged and went along with her. Adrien had a little more faith in Alix’s cleverness pulling through, and Nino stayed with him.

Alix, Adrien, Nino, Juleka, Rose, Max, and Nathaniel. Versus Kim, Alya, Marinette, Ivan, Mylene, Sabrina, and Chloe.

Chloe’s threatened to sue D’Argencourt before for possible injury during class, but he always stood firm that she must at least _attempt_ to participate, or else he’ll fail her. So she usually just stands around doing nothing, or makes herself the first to get out. It doesn’t ever matter what team Chloe’s on, since she’s pretty much as useful as a rock either way.

Then again, not everyone enjoys P.E. Half the class are good at participating, and the other half…not so much. It usually comes down to the half of the class that’s decent at P.E. to keep things going. Evidence currently by one side of the court with Kim, Alya, and Ivan still going strong, while the other side holds Alix, Nino, and Adrien.

Adrien’s hand-eye coordination and athleticism are pretty good, considering he does fencing, and the little fact that he’s a superhero. He enjoys P.E. because he never really knows what their teacher will throw at them, and it’s much more interesting and spontaneous than his usual regimented physical activities.

Plus, he can play with people! Team sports featuring cooperation are _way_ different from Adrien fencing people one-on-one or shooting hoops by himself in his room. The teamwork alone is reason enough for him to love the class.

As Adrien shoots a quick grin to Nino, and Nino grins back, his love for the class solidifies. Him and Nino make a pretty good team. Nearly as good as Chat Noir is with Ladybug.

Adrien barely manages to avoid a ball, bouncing on his heels, readying himself. At the next throw, he stands his ground and catches it in his hands, palms stinging from the force of Alya’s pitch.

“Team A catch,” D’Argencourt calls out, “Nathaniel, on the court!”

The redhead skitters out, barely managing to dodge a ball from Kim thrown his way, speeding past him and slamming hard against the wall. The shy boy lets out a squeak of terror. “C’mon, Nath!” Alix encourages her best friend, a ball in her hands and ready to deflect incoming projectiles.

“This is genuinely terrifying,” the artist notes, ducking from one of Ivan’s throws with a yelp. He’d lasted a decent amount of time with just dodging, before he was tagged out, so maybe he can last long enough to help ferry balls for the rest of them?

But all of Team B seem to come to a consensus and launch a slew of balls at the redhead at once.

“Oh, _c’mon_! Really?!” Nathaniel exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration as he’s eliminated only a minute after returning to court.

“Rest in pieces!” Alix calls out with a salute as her friend exasperatedly walks back to the bench. Kim and Alya hoot and high-five each other.

A quick glance shows those sitting on the benches being bored out of their minds or completely uninterested. Rose and Juleka are chatting to each other, Chloe is showing something to Sabrina on her phone, Max is reading a textbook for fun, and Nathaniel takes out his sketchbook to start drawing again. Marinette seems to be following the game but is mainly talking to Mylene. No doubt to keep the skittish girl from constantly flinching and squeaking at the sounds of the dodgeballs pelting the ground and walls with the force of speeding bullets.

Adrien must have let his mind wander too much, because he feels himself being pelted by a ball at the side of his knee. He finds his knee buckling from the suddenness and the force, pitching to the side, and right into Nino. The two fall onto the floor gracelessly like a sack of bricks against concrete, Adrien landing right on top of his best friend with a yelp. His forehead smacks hard on something, and Nino curses loudly.

The model quickly gathers himself enough to get his hands planted on the linoleum, raising himself to stare down at the other. Nino’s clutching at his face, blood on his hand and slowly dripping from his nose.

“Crap! I’m so sorry, Nino!” Adrien says, panicked. “S-Sir! Nino’s bleeding…!”

D’Argencourt sighs loudly, before blowing his whistle. “Team B wins! Now Nino, please go to the Nurse’s.”

“I’ll take him, sir!” Adrien offers, quickly scrambling off his best friend, standing and offering his hand to Nino. “Oh my God, I’m _so_ sorry!”

“S’fine,” Nino says in a nasally voice, pinching at the bridge of his nose to help slow the bleeding. “Not your fault.”

This does nothing to assuage Adrien’s worries. He’s just as frantic as he grabs some tissues Marinette offers from her purse, quickly turning to help Nino. He gently takes the other’s face in a hand, wiping up the blood that’s dribbled down past the other’s lips, before pressing the tissues against the bottom of Nino’s nose. Nino hisses, going stiff from the pain.

“Sorry. Here, hold this to your nose. Let’s get you to the nurse,” the model says softly, taking the other by the shoulder and steering him along.

* * *

Adrien rubs at Nino’s shoulder when they sit in the Nurse’s Office. “I’m _so_ sorry again, Nino.”

“Again, not your fault,” the other huffs, head tilted down as he keeps pinching his nose as instructed by the nurse. “Accidents happen in P.E. all the time. Mari used to be here every other P.E. class.”

“I’m glad she hasn’t returned as of late,” the nurse says, a bit curt, giving a pointed look at the two boys. “Though I’m concerned her clumsiness has transferred to you, Nino.”

“It was my fault! I’m the one that tripped,” Adrien tells the woman quickly, “I fell on Nino during dodgeball, and my head smacked his nose, and now we’re here…”

“I’ve been telling D’Argencourt to ease away from violent sports for his classes, and yet he never listens,” the woman huffs, blue eyes icy, shaking her mane of curly dark hair. Those icy eyes soften as she walks over to the duo. She taps Nino’s chin with a finger. “Raise your head and let me see the damage, then.”

The woman clicks her tongue, carefully turning Nino’s chin this way and that. “You’ve stopped bleeding, at least. It’ll bruise a bit, but we can get some ice on that to help, and a bandage should cover it up anyways.”

“Thanks, Miss Myers,” Nino smiles.

Adrien gives a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you’re okay…”

“Hey,” the cap-wearing boy starts, gently taking Adrien’s hand in his. “I told you, it’s all good, dude. It happens.”

The smile he gives Adrien is soft and fondly exasperated. Adrien finds himself letting out a flustered, “A-Alright…” with a sheepish grin. He still feels guilty for hurting the other, as well as bruising his handsome nose.

“Here’s your ice pack. Take your glasses off and cover as much of your nose as you can with this,” Miss Myers instructs as she hands the item to Nino. She points a finger at Adrien. “And your name, young man?”

Adrien finds himself blinking back at her, a little caught off guard. People rarely ask for his name, considering he’s known across Paris as Gabriel Agreste’s son and for modelling the Gabriel Brand. “Um. Adrien Agreste.”

“Right then, Adrien. Check his nose every five minutes. See if the swelling’s gone down. I’m going to have a little _word_ with D’Argencourt in the meantime.” The woman scrawls something on her clipboard, before ripping it off and handing it over. “And here’s passes for the both of you for your later classes.”

The model takes the paper from the nurse, a little dazed. The woman turns on her heel, dark curls like a flag as she strides with purpose out of the room.

“She’s…” Adrien trails off. “Um. Intense?”

“She is,” Nino agrees with a little laugh and crooked grin. “But she’s fair. She also doesn’t put up with people’s crap. Chloe tried using crocodile tears on her once, and Miss Myers pretty much kicked her to the curb with a band-aid and a ‘good day’.”

Adrien really shouldn’t find that funny, considering his past friendship with Chloe, but he does. He snickers. “Ooh, I’m sure Chloe _hated_ that.”

“She did,” Nino smirks. Then winces. “Okay, gotta stop making faces, looks like.”

“Here, lemme check,” the blond starts, leaning in close. He disentangles their hands—huh, he’d almost forgotten Nino was holding his hand—and carefully takes the other’s chin. Adrien squints and stares at the other’s nose. “Hm…We should get that ice on there…”

When he flickers his gaze up, his eyes lock with Nino’s. They’re widened behind the glasses, pupils dilating in the brown depths.

Adrien suddenly realizes how close their faces are. His heart stops and he sucks in a sharp breath, his own eyes going wide. He feels paralyzed in place, pinned there by Nino’s mahogany eyes.

Mahogany eyes that have gone half lidded, bordered by glasses. Glasses that Nino shouldn’t be wearing, because he needs to put ice on his nose. Right. That’s why Adrien had grabbed Nino’s face in the first place.

The blond jerks back, entire body blazing. “The ice!” he yelps. “Right, sorry, here—” He places a hand on Nino’s thigh and leans across him to snatch up the ice pack. Nino’s as still as a statue when Adrien pulls back, holding up the ice pack with a sheepish smile. “Um…Glasses?”

Nino doesn’t make a move, frozen still and looking dazed. So the blond decides to act. He carefully grabs the other’s thick frames and slides them off, trying not to jostle his nose too much in the process, Nino’s entire face darkened in a blush. Adrien sets the glasses aside, gaze averted. “S-Sorry, I should’ve asked to take them off for you…”

“S’fine,” Nino rasps out.

Adrien bites his lip, nerves making his hands a bit shaky as he picks up the ice pack. He looks up shyly at his best friend, raising the ice pack and gently pressing it against his nose. Nino jolts in place, hissing, and Adrien almost pulls it back completely. But the other quickly raises a hand, placing it against Adrien’s, holding the ice pack in place.

Adrien’s hand feels cold from the ice and hot from Nino’s touch. It’s a reaction that matches his body, how his body feels blazing hot, but he also wants to shiver like he’s catching a cold…

When the door of the Nurse’s Office opens, Adrien’s not sure why he jerks away so suddenly, filled with such an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment. He’s not sure if it makes things better or worse that it’s Alya and Marinette that enter and stare back at him, brows flown high on their foreheads.

“We, uh,” starts Marinette awkwardly, “we came to check up on you?”

“M-Mari! Alya! Um, hey,” Nino laughs in a nervous, high voice.

“It looks like you’re doing more than fine, so,” Alya says, with a wide smirk, “We’ll leave you both to it.”

“Hey, w-wait!” Adrien yelps out, but the two girls are already scrambling back out of the door. “Oh…Alright.” For some reason, he feels more relieved than regretful at their exit.

Adrien has absolutely no idea what his feelings are anymore, actually.

He settles back in place next to Nino, hyperaware of the sweat on his palms and the thrum of his heart, his face warm enough to cook an egg on. Hyperaware of how their shoulders are pressed together, the way Nino’s stiff posture slowly loosens as they lean against one another, the way he can see all of Nino’s lashes without his glasses in the way. Hyperaware of the quiet that settles between them, the way the air feels charged like ozone after a thunderstorm, heady enough to taste.

Adrien doesn’t want to move, doesn’t want to break this fragile moment. So he doesn’t.

* * *

Adrien doesn’t move when Nino carefully grabs his wrist two days later, at the end of the school day.

It’s been two days since the whole ‘accidentally giving Nino a nosebleed’ incident. Thankfully, there isn’t much bruising left, though Nino still wears a cute little square bandage at the bridge of his nose.

“What’s up?” Adrien asks, fiddling with the strap of his bookbag.

“You’ve got some time before fencing practice, right…?” his best friend asks. Adrien, suddenly unable to form words, just nods his head in confirmation. “Can I, like. Tell you something? Before your practice, and stuff?”

“What do you need to tell me?” Adrien asks, confused and a bit nervous.

“Uh…” Nino’s cheeks color, and he darts his gaze around the classroom, which is only half-empty. The rest of their classmates are trying very hard to not look like they’re eavesdropping. “Can I tell you when we’re alone?”

“Okay,” Adrien nods. He turns to Alya and Marinette, who just wave at them with wide smiles, darting to the exit while giggling.

The duo gather their things and make their way to the Gym, Rose giggling at their retreat. Adrien is a strange bundle of nerves all the while as they make their trek. He really shouldn’t be, but his mind is going in circles, wondering what Nino wanted to tell him that he had to ask for them to be in private to do it.

They don’t enter the actual Gym, electing to find a nook in the hallway leading up it. Adrien’s pretty sure the spot they use is where couples go to kiss in-between classes. That’s probably why he feels so warm and sweaty as he leans his back against the wall, shoving his hands in his pants pockets to try and subtly wipe away the nervous sweat that’s slick against his palms.

“Are, uh. Are things okay?” he starts off with, when Nino just stops and stares at him without saying a word. “Is, um, your nose feeling better, and stuff?”

“Huh?” Nino blinks blankly, before shaking his head. “Yeah, no, it’s all good. It’s cool.”

“Cool,” the blond nods back, letting out a breath. Alright, that’s one possibility down… “Sooooo, what’s up?”

“Just…” the other trails off, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets and taking an audible breath. “You ever like anyone before?”

Adrien cocks his head to the side. “Uh. Yeah? I like you and Alya and Marinette…?” For some reason Nino jolts, before his shoulders slump. “You’re all really important to me.”

“Right. Alright,” Nino mutters, eyes darting away, before locking back onto Adrien’s. “So you’ve never…liked anyone. _Like_ like anyone?”

“Nino,” Adrien starts slowly, “I’ve literally been locked in my house like a prisoner serving a life sentence until this school year. I haven’t interacted with enough people to even know if I _like_ like them.”

“Y-Yeah, no, that makes sense,” Nino says with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck, gaze lowered in what almost seems like _shame_ , of all things.

The model frowns and considers. The way Nino’s acting, it’s like…

Adrien’s heart trips in his chest, as he asks, “Do you have a crush, Nino?” The other stiffens. Bingo.

An odd cocktail of emotions gathers in Adrien’s stomach, as he waits for his best friend to say anything else. Waiting for some sort of confirmation. “I…Yeah,” the cap-wearing boy says quietly. “It’s…”

Oh. So Adrien was right. He’s not sure why his stomach is roiling like a storm at sea, or why his insides feel like they’re caught in a vice.

“That’s great, dude,” Adrien finds himself saying, sliding a smile on his face like a well-worn mask. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they’ll accept if you ask them out. You’re a great guy, they’d be crazy not to.” Why. Why is he still talking? But he can’t stop himself, the words automatic, spilling past his lips. “You wanted to tell me ‘cuz you need advice, right? Well, I’ll be happy to help! Anything for my best friend! You’d do the same for me, after all…”

Nino snaps his head up, staring back at him with an expression of dawning horror. Adrien finds himself laughing, robotic and hollow to his ears. “Just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll help you out! We can bring Alya and Marinette in, too. Unless you don’t want to tell them, for whatever reason? I mean, more heads are better than one.”

Nino stares back at him with horrified panic, silent as a grave, and Adrien finds the final puzzle piece clicking into place. The reason Nino pulled him aside privately to ask this instead of talking to their group about it, the nervousness, the way he kept disappearing before Valentine’s day with—

“Marinette. It’s Marinette, right?” he asks, more statement than question. “That’s great! You’re both already so close, I’m sure she’ll say yes! You should go for it.”

“No!” the other exclaims in a gasp, yanking his hands from his pockets and waving them around frantically. “Nonono, it’s not Marinette!”

Yeah, no, that denial wasn’t fooling him. It was definitely Marinette.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. Marinette won’t hear a thing about this,” Adrien states, mimicking zipping his lips and throwing away the key. At the same time, he locks and throws aside the key to his heart, locking up all his tumultuous and ugly emotions away with it to never see the light of day.

Nino likes Marinette. Good for him. Adrien was happy. Really. Truly. They’d…They’d make a great couple. Adrien’s happy for his best friend.

Adrien gives the other a model-perfect smile and walks around him. “Good talk, Nino,” he says, clapping the other’s shoulder. He doesn’t run, even if he feels like it. He just keeps a steady and clipped walking pace. “Gotta go to practice, sorry! See ya!”

He speed-walks down the hallway, shoving open the Gym doors. The talk they had is probably going to make him late. That’s why he runs into the locker room. No other reason.

There’s also no other reason why he’s sloppy during practice, either. He’s taking more risks, taking a more aggressive approach. It loses him points, but gets him to win his matches anyways. He’s not sure why D’Argencourt is so critical of him for it, but the man’s words fall onto Adrien’s ears like static regardless.

He’s just doing his job. He’s doing his best, and he’s keeping it together. He’s fine.

* * *

Adrien isn’t fine. Not at all.

It’s why he goes home and instantly slips out as Chat Noir. A patrol should clear his head. And if he brings along an entire stash of Camembert so he can Cataclysm the Akuma butterflies that seem to follow him relentless all the while, well. At least he’s trying to be responsible.

Ladybug finds him not long after the start of his self-imposed patrol, evidence by her swinging in and capturing a stupid Akuma butterfly that’s been following Chat Noir for the past three blocks already.

“Chaton…?” his partner asks softly, oh so softly. And that’s all it takes for him to break down.

Ladybug wraps him up in a hug, lowering them both to the ground. He clings to her, burying his face in her collarbone and wetting her hero suit with his tears. He feels like he’s six again, sobbing against Mother’s chest, because Father snapped and screamed at him for accidentally knocking over the urn that held Grandmama’s ashes.

Ladybug rubs his back with one arm. There’s still the telltale sound of the zip of her yoyo, so she’s no doubt capturing Akuma butterflies that near him.

“Let it out, chaton. Let it all out…” Ladybug whispers, rocking them to and fro.

Chat Noir hiccups, and he cries, and he lets it all out. He feels like a dam bursting, a drenching downpour as the heavens open up, a hurricane tearing through the water and earth, a cyclone ripping up his insides and leaving him raw.

But he feels better. Being able to cry. Being able to do so freely, as loud as he possibly wants, as long as he needs, tears and snot and all.

He’s always had to be quick when he cries, because Agreste men don’t show weakness. The only time he’s been allowed to do so was when he’d run to Mother, wailing, and she’d swaddle him up in a big hug, cradling and rocking him in her arms. Since Mother’s disappearance, he hasn’t had someone there to hug him, to help keep him together, to shield him from the cruel world and allow him to crumble and show weakness.

He never realized until now how much he needed someone to do it, someone to comfort him in Mother’s place. The last time he cried was during Dark Cupid’s Akuma, all the stress finally bubbling and boiling over, having Nino be under the Akuma’s control and spit venomous things at him. He’d felt like his heart had been thrown against the wall, but he’d clumsily picked up all the two halves and hot-glued them together.

This is much more involved. At least, maybe that’s why it takes him so long to calm down. Not just a quick cry session that’s over in a minute or two, but a proper cry.

By the time he’s calmed down and detached himself from his partner, scrambling off her lap, Ladybug looks tired. She switches her yoyo to her other arm, capturing the Akuma and purifying them with barely a pause.

“Sorry,” he mutters with a sniffle, trying not to feel too ashamed by taking up so much of the other’s time and energy. It still doesn’t help him from feeling guilty.

“We all have bad days, Chat. It’s not your fault,” Ladybug sighs, giving him a small, sympathetic smile. “Wanna talk about it?”

“I’m not sure if there’s anything _to_ talk about…” Chat Noir admits awkwardly. “I…It’s. It’s dumb.”

“It isn’t dumb, if it’s made you this upset,” Ladybug states firmly, blue eyes soft behind her mask. “Talking about it always helps make me feel better. C’mon, you can tell me, Chat. We’re friends. Friends help each other when they’re sad.”

“Yeah,” Chat Noir nods, relief filling him at his partner’s steady support, of her kind blue eyes, the grounding effect of her hand on his shoulder.

He takes a breath, considering. The words are hard to find. He’s…He’s not even sure why he’s upset…

No, that’s not quite it. He has an inkling as to why, but it’s confusing. It doesn’t make any sort of sense to him.

“Just try to start with what you know, if you can,” Ladybug urges gently, finally stalling from purifying Akuma and lowering her yoyo. They’ve stopped appearing, now that Chat Noir’s calmed down.

The leather-clad hero nods, crossing his legs, thinking it over. “I…I have a best friend. He means the world to me. Today he…he talked to me. About a crush.” Ladybug nods at him encouragingly to keep going, so he licks his lips and tentatively goes on with, “I…I’m happy for him. Really. I am. But for whatever reason, I just…”

“Are you scared of losing your best friend, if he starts dating someone?” Ladybug asks him gently.

He lets out a long sigh. “I…Maybe? That’s what makes the most sense, right…? I don’t want to lose my best friend. He—He’s amazing. And he helps me so much. He’s always there for me. He makes me smile and laugh and…”

“And?”

“I get tingly, when I’m around him. He makes me feel warm. When he smiles at me, when he touches me, when he laughs…I don’t—I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” he admits quietly. Something settles inside him, a sunrise peaking across the horizon as he realizes, “And I don’t want him to look at anyone else, the way he looks at me. I just want his eyes on me.”

“You’re jealous,” Ladybug starts, voice even and calm, “because you’re in love with him.”

Oh.

“Oh,” he whispers, staring into his partner’s eyes, the fog finally clearing. “I…I do.”

Ladybug smiles back at him warmly. “Feelings can be a little complicated. I’m glad I could help.”

“Yeah, that…that _does_ help, actually. Thanks, Ladybug,” Chat Noir nods, smiling back tentatively. “I’ve… I’ve got a _lot_ to think about.”

“Sounds like it,” she agrees, nodding back at him. She gets to her feet, offering him her hand. He takes it, and she helps haul him up. “I hope you figure things out, chaton. Good luck!”

“Thanks,” Chat Noir snorts, heart full to bursting at the easiness of their friendship, the support. “I’m gonna need it.”

* * *

Adrien is going to need all his luck combined to get out of this deeply awkward school day.

Adrien is trying to ignore Nino without actually ignoring him. It’s a very hard balance to strike. He feels guilty, supremely guilty, because he’s just pulling what Nino did to him post-Horrificator. And he remembers how terrible he felt with Nino ignoring him during those weeks.

At the same time, Adrien’s just realized yesterday he was in love with Nino, and he’s doing his best not to panic about that. He’s surprisingly successful at panicking a minimal amount. His heart jackrabbits in his chest whenever Nino does anything whatsoever, but he can at least put up a calm façade.

When they’re heading out for lunch, Adrien falls back to ask Alya in an undertone, “Can I talk to you about something?”

The dark-skinned girl gives him a questioning look, but nods. She turns to Marinette and Nino, who’ve stalled in the hallway. “Go on to our table, we’ll be there in a little bit!”

Nino frowns at them, but Marinette grabs at his arm and starts to drag him to the cafeteria. Adrien fights down the sudden wave of jealousy at watching the half-Chinese girl cling to the cap-wearing boy, turning to Alya and mumbling, “Let’s go.”

Adrien isn’t really sure where to go, so he just takes them away from the cafeteria. He passes by the staircase, a boy in a red hoodie sitting under it and staring longingly at a group of their classmates horsing around, at Alix putting a squawking Nathaniel in a headlock while Kim cackles. Adrien leads Alya past the staircase, and down the hall.

They end up around the area of Ms. Mendeleieve’s classroom by the time his gait slows. Ms. Mendeleieve was an intimidating teacher, and very few stuck around her area after classes were over because of it. There probably won’t be any eavesdroppers here. He leans his back against a stretch of the hallway, looking at his friend.

“What’s up, homeboy?” Alya asks, crossing her arms and cocking her hip. “This about how weird you’ve been acting today?”

“Um. Yeah, I think,” the model sighs, grabbing the back of his neck. “Yesterday, before fencing practice, me and Nino…talked.”

“And…?” the bespectacled girl asks slowly, amber eyes intent behind her glasses.

Adrien sighs. “He told me he had a crush.”

The girl’s eyes go wide. “He did?!” She leans forwards excitedly, “And what’d you say? C’mon, spill!”

The blond grimaces. “I told him I’d support him with his crush, of course. He’s my best friend! What else could I do? I told him I’d help him with his crush on Marinette and—”

“Woah woah woah, hold the phone,” Alya says quickly, raising her hands and making a ‘stop’ motion. “Could you repeat that?”

Adrien huffs, “What part? Nino’s got a crush on Marinette. It’s pretty obvious.” Alya stares back at him, mouth agape. Adrien’s posture slumps and he groans. “I knew it…”

“Woah! Hey, I didn’t say a damn word!” the girl retorts, hands on her hips. “Stop putting words in my mouth, Adrien Agreste…!”

“Sorry!” he eeps, raising his hands in front of him, because Alya looked downright _pissed_. Yeesh, his friend is terrifying when she’s angry. “Sorry…”

“You better be, Sunshine,” she harrumphs. “Now, you’re gonna explain to me how you got Nino having a crush on Marinette _just_ from him saying he’s got a crush.”

“Well, it’s the only thing that really made sense,” Adrien starts, a little defensive. “They’ve been friends for a long time, so they’re close and familiar with each other. Nino kept pulling her aside for alone time before Valentine’s Day. He calls her parents Mom and Dad.”

“All those things are because they’re _friends_ , Adrien.”

“Yeah, well, he got super panicked when I asked him if it was her. The denial was really fishy.”

“Maybe he panicked ‘cuz he _doesn’t have a crush on her_?”

“Who else would it even be?!” Adrien exclaims, throwing his hands up from pure exasperation. “No one else makes sense for him to have a crush on! Tell me, who else could it be, Alya—”

“ _You_!” Alya says, throwing her hands forwards to gesture at him.

Adrien gives a laugh, something wild with a bitter edge. “Me? Yeah, right.” He shakes his head and sighs. “I wish…”

He closes his eyes, defeated, hearing Alya give a loud gasp. “No way…”

His stomach ties itself into knots as he gets out, “Way. I—I know it’s selfish, and I want to support Nino, but I—I like him—”

A squeal cuts through his destitution. He feels himself being pulled into a hug, eyes flying open and staring down at Alya’s mane of hair. “YES!” she yells, jumping around as she hugs him. “FINALLY!”

“Um…” he trails off, confused, carefully hugging his friend back. She hugs him like she’s going to snap his spine in half, even more enthusiastic than her normal hugs.

“When did you figure it out?” Alya asks quickly, breathless, when she pulls back from their embrace. She smiles up at him with all her teeth. “It was yesterday, right? It must’ve been! How’d you do it?”

Adrien just stares back helplessly with a small smile, mind whirring. “I…got some advice…”

“From who? ‘Cuz lemme tell ya, I wanna go and give ‘em a prize!” Alya laughs, rubbing his shoulder and grinning wide.

Well, it would be sort of hard to explain how he’d gotten advice and comfort by Ladybug. Alya might find it suspicious, especially since he never actually got Akumatized, so there’d be no reason for Ladybug to be around him anyways.

“That really doesn’t matter,” he says weakly. “They helped me figure it out. And I’ve been sort of freaking out since then. I don’t even know how to act around Nino, now.”

The dark-skinned girl nods. “Yeah, I can tell.” A pause, as she stares him down, before stating, “You have to tell him.”

Adrien gives a high-pitched hum, eyes going wide as he’s enveloped by panic. “Mmmm, _no_.”

“C’mon, Adrien! Let’s go right now—”

“No! Nononono, we are _not_ —” Adrien hisses, grabbing Alya’s shoulders before she can leave him in the dust and go straight to Nino with the news. “—going to tell him.”

“But you should!” the blogger counters, that familiar gleam in her eyes of bullheaded determination. The same gleam she has whenever she wants to dive headfirst into a problem or headfirst into an Akuma attack for footage.

“There’s literally nothing in existence that I want to do _less_ , right now,” he states, meeting her eyes, “Alya, _please_ , don’t tell Nino. Swear to me you won’t tell him.”

“Adrien, you’re being ridiculous,” Alya says, exasperated and a hint patronizing. “Nino’s your best friend—”

“Which is why I don’t want to tell him!” he hisses back at her. “If I tell him, I’m going to ruin our friendship! We already had a fight once, Alya, and that almost _killed_ me. I’m _not_ going to go and make it even worse…!”

Alya sighs, giving him a pitying look, her eyes soft. Her voice is just as soft as she says, “Adrien…”

“Please. I can’t lose him because of this,” he whispers, lowering his gaze and feeling it burn slightly, fighting down the tears welling up.

He’s surprised when Alya wraps her arms around him once more. “Alright. I won’t tell him.” He sighs, relieved, for all of ten seconds, wrapping his arms around her to reciprocate the hug. “But I’m going to help you two get together.”

Adrien lets go of his friend like he’s been burned. “ _What_?! Alya, no—I can’t—”

“Adrien, holding this inside is going to hurt you even worse,” she chides, allowing him to pull away from her embrace. “You can barely interact with him as it is.”

“But I don’t—I’m not—He likes Marinette! I don’t wanna get in the way of that. I’m not a, a—a _homewrecker_ ,” he says the word with fear and distaste.

“Can’t be a homewrecker if they’re not even dating,” Alya points out, rather calmly and logically. Adrien both appreciates and hates it.

“Listen. I’ll—I’ll live with it,” he starts, wringing his hands. “I care about both of them a lot. If they’re happy together, I’ll be happy for them. It’s fine.”

Alya claps her hands in front of her face, pressing her fingers against her lips, as if in prayer. She takes in a deep breath, and lets out an equally deep sigh. “We’ll figure this out later,” she says, rather cryptically. “Now c’mon. Let’s stuff our lunches down our gullets with the time we’ve got left.”

* * *

Adrien finds that the technique of stuffing food in your mouth, so you don’t have to talk, is one he rather enjoys using. He’s never able to do it in any other place, because it would be considered rude, and models don’t stuff their faces, especially models that are the sons of Gabriel Agreste.

But he uses it now, and he’s saved by having to make conversation at lunch. For today.

The next day, he’s not so lucky.

“My dad says there’s a new panther at the Zoo this weekend,” Alya starts, and Nino nods along.

“A new panther? Sounds cool,” the cap-wearing boy says, turning to Adrien. “That sounds cool, right, Adrien?”

The blond nods. “Mhm.” Nino still stares back at him with wide, mahogany eyes, expression close to pleading.

“Huh. I haven’t been to the zoo since…forever. I think we were ten?” Marinette asks, turning to Nino.

Adrien realizes just then what he needs to do. “Well, why don’t you two go? You can see what’s changed since the last time you went.”

Nino stares back at him in panic and dread. Adrien nods back. Nino taught him all about the Bro Code, and he’s putting that to use to wingman right now. It makes his stomach feel queasy, but he’s doing it. For Nino.

“Why don’t we all go?” Alya offers quickly. When Adrien glances at her, she’s looking right at him, rather pointedly. He narrows his eyes at her. “Dad’s told me before he can get me tickets for us.”

“That sounds great!” Marinette says, bright and enthusiastic. She beams at Nino, “Doesn’t that sound great, Nino?”

“The greatest,” Nino smiles back nervously.

“I dunno if my Father will let me go…” Adrien trails off, feeling low for using that as an excuse. His best friend turns panicked eyes to him.

“What?! Oh, c’mon, you’ve gotta go!” the cap-wearing boy says, a little frantic, his chocolate eyes wide. “It won’t be the same without you!”

Well. Well, if Nino really wants him there…And besides, it’s obvious his best friend needs him to be there to help him woo over his crush…

“I’ll…I’ll talk to Nathalie,” the model ends up saying weakly with a smile. Nino beams at him. He looks away, catching Marinette’s equally bright smile. His stomach turns once more.

He doesn’t bother to look at Alya, knowing she’ll have a look of triumph on her face. He hears the notes of it anyways, when she says, “This Sunday, then. Let’s all have a great time!”

Sure. A great time it’ll be for sure…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all probably screaming at your monitors because of this chapter right now. Whether from joy of Adrien realizing his feelings, or pained fury that he's cockblocking himself, or maybe even both.
> 
> Either way, y'all know where you can yell at me.
> 
> Special note: The cameo of the nurse is made by an OC from Marc_Anciel_Fan. It was a relief not to have to make up my own OC for this role. All credit for Mary Myers to her.


	8. Animan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment you've all been waiting for... the Animan chapter!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy. It was a hoot to write.

* * *

Adrien is already having a not-so-great time, and he hasn’t even entered the zoo yet.

The blond looks around nervously, but he can’t find any of his friends. Except for one: Nino.

Nino’s wearing a forest green button shirt on top of a light green t-shirt, plus his usual pair of jeans. Adrien almost hadn’t recognized him because for once, he wasn’t wearing his usual red cap. In fact, he wasn’t even wearing a cap at all. Memorizing Nino’s profile is what helped Adrien recognize his best friend-slash-crush, noting the exact slope of his nose and curve of his lips and the familiar pair of glasses. He would’ve just thought Nino had a cousin or look-alike running around, otherwise.

Adrien’s heart runs like a jackrabbit in his chest. Nino…looks very nice without a cap. Or maybe he just looks different. Or maybe both? Probably both.

Adrien lingers back, looking around himself with renewed panic. Alya is nowhere to be seen, which Adrien had sort of half-figured. No doubt she’s trying to cook up a plan to get Adrien and Nino alone together. But he would’ve thought Marinette would be here… though this could just be one of her sporadic late spells…

Adrien makes a second sweep of the area, eyes stalling once more on Nino. Who’s glaring down at his phone in frustration, it seems like.

Then Nino looks up from his phone. Even across the distance they’re standing, the two boys lock eyes, as if by fate.

The blond’s heart attempts to both soar and plummet at once in his chest. Is this the black cat’s bad luck at work…? Either way, Adrien can only internally panic, because Nino starts to walk over to him with a little smile and wave.

“Yo…! I was starting to wonder if anyone else was gonna show,” the bespectacled boy says, smile gleaming white and crooked in his mouth. “Glad you got here okay, dude.”

“Uh, yeah! Thanks,” Adrien nods quickly, moving to run a hand through his hair, before pausing. Right. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up to help disguise him. So far, it’s done a good job, considering no one’s even looked his way. Maybe his hairstyle is just too distinctive. It’s probably because his face is plastered over billboards all across Paris, and his hairstyle is a part of that popular image.

The two stand around awkwardly for a very long moment, Nino’s grin turning almost anxious as he notes, “You’re wearing a hoodie. That’s different.”

“You’re not wearing your cap. That’s different,” Adrien throws back easily.

Nino gives a little laugh, looking and sounding self-conscious as he rubs the back of his neck, his other hand falling on his hip. “Uh, yeah…Is it…Does it look bad…?”

“No! No, not at all!” the blond assures his best friend quickly. “I just almost didn’t recognize you at first without it. It’s a good look, though.”

“You think?” Nino asks, cheeks coloring slightly, passing a hand through his cropped curls. Oh, he looks so _suave_ doing that. Wow…

No, bad Adrien! Don’t get distracted by your handsome best friend! You’ve got to help him woo his girl, not get wooed by him…!

All Adrien’s capable of doing is giving out a little wheeze that he turns into an “mhm!” of agreement. Gosh, he’s a disaster. Get your head in the game, Agreste. Act. Casual.

Nino looks incredibly pleased by his response regardless of its lack of coherency. He ruffles his hair. “Feels weird without it, I’ll be honest. I can actually feel the breeze and sunshine, heh.”

“Well,” Adrien starts, shoring up his strength and getting his attention span back to straights, “Marinette will definitely appreciate it. Speaking of, where is she? Have you heard anything?”

Nino’s face falls. Adrien pretty much regrets what he said immediately because of it. “Uh…No, nothin’ yet.”

“I haven’t seen or heard anything from her _or_ Alya,” Adrien sighs, reaching out to clap Nino on the shoulder, shooting him a smile he hopes manages to convey a decent amount of sympathy. “Maybe they’re running late.”

“Maybe…” the dark-skinned boy allows, biting his lip, face falling into one of consideration. “Um…you wanna go inside to wait?”

“Oh.” Adrien blinks. “What if they can’t find us…?”

“They can text us,” Nino shrugs. “Or, hey, maybe they’re already inside? Alya might be visiting her dad while he’s working. Maybe Marinette ended up going along with her…? She likes making good first impressions.”

“Okay…” Adrien nods. The explanation makes some amount of sense. Besides, it’s obvious Nino is anxious to find Marinette regardless. If going inside the zoo and walking around will help ease some of his separation anxiety, Adrien will go along with it. “Let’s go in, and we’ll just keep our phones on in case they text.”

His best friend gives him a relieved smile. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

* * *

Adrien is starting to think this was all planned.

They walk around the entrance. With no sight of either of the girls, Nino points out that they should probably head to where the panthers are, and see if they can find Alya’s dad with the new panther. So they follow the path, but Adrien gets distracted by pretty much every exhibit along the way, because he hasn’t been to a zoo in a long time, and all the animals are attention-grabbing.

He smiles at the pens with the zebras, and laughs at the one with the monkeys going bananas, and the second they hit the area where the lions are, he begins cooing at the cubs.

Yes, they’re very adorable. No, Adrien’s never had such a strong reaction to animals before this. Is this part of the Cat Miraculous…? Making him feel particularly attached to cats, specifically baby cats? No matter if they’re a species of predator that become ginormous when they’re fully grown…?

“They’re so _cute_ ,” he finds himself gasping, eyes watering as he watches as the little lion cubs tumble around nearby, chasing each other and wrestling. “Nino, look! They’re _precious_.”

He looks up, hit full force with one of Nino’s incredibly soft, achingly fond smiles, coupled with crinkled eyes that were gooey like melted chocolate. “Yeah. Cute.”

Adrien feels his face go warm and his heart skip a beat. He whips his head back to look at the baby lions, but his eyes are unseeing.

This was all planned by Alya. Make her and Marinette disappear who-knows-where, so Adrien and Nino are forced to walk around the zoo alone…and have only Nino’s attention on him…almost like it’s a…

But, no. No, Nino was just here as his best friend. That’s _it_. He doesn’t like Adrien, he likes Marinette, and he should be walking around with _Marinette_ alone, not Adrien.

However, the selfish little part of him whispers that he should enjoy this while he can. This intimacy. After all, when’s he ever going to have the opportunity for it later…? Never.

He can be selfish, for once. As a treat. And then, when they find Marinette and Alya, he’ll make sure Nino is alone with the half-Chinese girl, to make up for it. As repentance.

* * *

Adrien closes his eyes briefly as screams rent the air, selfishly wishing that there wasn’t an Akuma attack happening this very second.

Hell, it could have happened later this day, and he’d be fine with it, perfectly ready to go. Just not when he’s on the closest thing to a date he’ll ever have with his crush. That’s his final fucking straw, it seems.

“We gotta go!” Nino yells, grabbing onto Adrien’s hand and pulling him into a run. Adrien stumbles at the start but rights himself quickly, instincts kicking in, running alongside Nino and clutching to his hand.

Someone sprints right past them. From the build and hair style, it’s Kim. A panther runs right past the duo with a snarl, too close for comfort, and they skid in place to a stop. Adrien watches in horror as the large predator attempts to pounce on the jock, only barely being stopped by Ladybug’s yoyo hooking around its middle.

  
“What the _fuck_!” Nino exclaims.

“KEEP RUNNING, BOYS!” a familiar voice bellows, Alya running towards them with fear and fury in her eyes, a terrified Max trailing behind her.

Adrien’s heart pounds, trying to catalogue everything happening at once. There’s a stampede of zoo animals that have escaped their cages and running wild across the zoo, getting closer to them. Ladybug is still wrestling with the panther, Kim stumbling to his feet and sprinting away again. Nino is holding his hand like it’s a lifeline.

“Let’s go!” the blond says, tugging Nino forwards and around a corner. The monkey exhibit is in front of them, empty from its monkeys like a kid having scattered and lost their monkeys-in-a-barrel. Adrien pulls them to duck inside the enclosure, crouching down in a relatively clean spot to hide, hoping for the best.

“Are you okay?” he asks, turning to the other. Nino is panting hard, eyes blown wide with fear.

“Y-Yeah…” the other manages to get out. “You—you okay?”

“Yeah,” Adrien nods, before carefully raising his head and turning his gaze out the bars, watching the chaos.

He needs to leave Nino and transform. Ladybug can’t handle all those wild animals herself, plus the Akuma on top of it. They need to either round up the animals back in their cages, or hunt down and break the Akuma’s object.

Adrien makes to stand. Nino instantly yanks him back down with a panicked hiss of, “What are you doing?!”

“I…” Adrien trails off, face scrunching up in frustration. He can’t make up any sort of excuse that’ll convince Nino to let him go, he knows, but he has to try. Ladybug is counting on him. “I want to go get help—”

“You’ll get stampeded!” Nino snaps at him, voice thick with fear and expression just as fearful. “Adrien, you _can’t_ go out there.”

Time to switch tactics. “Alya and Marinette are still out there,” he points out. “They might need us.”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir will protect them,” Nino says firmly. Contrasting to his tone, the way he grabs Adrien’s face with his other hand is gentle. Brown eyes meet green, as he goes on with, “We gotta have faith that the girls made it out fine, and the heroes got it. We go out there, we make ourselves two more people they gotta save.”

Adrien can’t even fault the other for the logic, because it’s actually incredibly rock-solid, if not for the issue that Adrien is Chat Noir and can’t help protect _anyone_ if he’s not transformed.

This is it. He’s not getting rid of Nino. Nino’s too damn loyal to let him go, too worried that he’ll get himself killed for trying to help. Fuck. Adrien’s never loved and hated Nino’s unfailing loyalty more before this very moment.

He’s going to have to tell Nino.

Adrien had been sworn to secrecy to never reveal his identity. It was the only hard and fast rule Plagg had ever given him, as the wielder of the Cat Miraculous. “ _Unless there’s no other option and people are gonna die, don’t reveal who you are_.” In fact, he can feel the Kwami quiver against him where he’s hidden inside Adrien’s shirt.

Well, this sure as hell feels like he has no other option. There are wild animals on the loose, including ones that are natural predators. They could literally hunt and kill innocents. Ladybug might get caught in the crossfire trying to protect everyone on her own.

He has no other choice. That’s why he opens up his mouth to say, “Nino, I—”

“Adrien, I’ve gotta tell you something.” Nino’s voice is serious and even, and the look in his eyes is determined.

Adrien sucks in a breath. Of all the times, does this have to happen now…? “Nino, there’s no time—”

“I like you. Like you more than just a friend.”

The world feels like it freezes. His breath, the sounds around him, his heart, even time itself. Nothing else exists in this moment, not the stampeding animals or the civilians or the Akuma. It’s just him and Nino, crouched down in this dirty cage, holding hands and looking deeply into each other’s eyes.

“I like you too,” he finds himself whispering, as if unwilling to break the moment.

He sees when the statement registers in those chocolate eyes, sees the wonder and bone-deep relief and what he recognizes now is love. An overwhelming amount of love, so much love, like a wave that’s liable to sweep Adrien away.

Nino smiles with all his teeth, a sunrise breaking out across his face, bright and gleaming and gorgeous. His hand drops from Adrien’s cheek. “Oh. Really?”

“Really,” Adrien nods, before raising a finger to stop Nino from barraging him with questions. The bespectacled boy looks ready to vibrate out of his skin or pull Adrien into a hug and never let go. “But I have to tell you something else, Nino. Can you keep a secret?” Adrien asks in an even and calm voice, feeling like he’s out of his own body.

He waits until Nino nods at him and states, with an overwhelming amount of love and conviction, “Anything.”

Adrien nods back. He lets go of Nino’s hand. And then he says, “Plagg, Claws Out.”

This was the only way. So he can help Ladybug, and save Paris. So he can protect Nino.

He feels leather wrap itself around his skin, feels his eyes burn as his vision sharpens tenfold, feels his hands flex as his claws come in, his belt-tail thrashing and the ears at the top of his head swiveling this way and that as they’re bombarded by his sharpened sense of hearing.

Nino stares back at him with wide, wide eyes behind his glasses. “…Oh.”

Chat Noir smiles back at the other, grim and apologetic. “I need to go. But we’ll talk later. Okay?”

Nino snaps a hand out, grabbing onto Chat Noir’s wrist. But it’s gentle. “Be careful,” Nino tells him, mahogany eyes shining with concern.

Chat Noir smiles at him crookedly. “No guarantees, but I’ll try. For you.” Before he can overthink it, he leans in and leaves a quick kiss on the other’s cheek. “Stay hidden and stay safe, alright?”

“A-Alright,” Nino breathes, cheeks darkened in a blush and eyes a little shocked and awed.

Chat Noir catches the other raising a hand to touch his cheek wonderingly before he dashes out of the cage, sprinting to find Ladybug.

* * *

“Chaton…!” Ladybug calls out in relief when he finds her perched on top of one of the Zoo’s enclosures.

“Sorry I’m late,” he apologizes with a grimace.

“I’m just glad you’re here now,” Ladybug assures him quickly with a shake of her head and a small smile. Chat Noir smiles back at her with relief.

“It looks like a madhouse out here,” he notes, as the two begin jumping across the zoo. “Any idea where the Akuma could be?”

“It’s one of the animals. They can talk, but they blend in with the rest, so they’re hard to spot,” the heroine admits, as she swings alongside him. “Wait, there!”

She extends her yoyo at a panther stalking up to Kim, who’s lying sprawled on the cobblestone street. Chat Noir is quick to jump down to the scene.

“You’re giving black cats a bad name, you know,” the leather-clad hero brandishes his baton as he quips at the panther. The panther with Hawkmoth-purple eyes, a purple charm bracelet around its paw. Looks like this one’s the Akuma.

The panther opening its maw to snarl out, “Get out of the way, you mangy kitten!” only confirms this.

“You’re not escaping my yoyo that easily!” Ladybug snaps, landing on the ground and attempting to reel the Akuma in.

Chat Noir twists his baton with a click, the end glowing a green paw print. He gently baps the end on Kim’s shoulder, marking him to track later. “Get and up run. Find a building to hide in.”

“Th-thanks, Ladybug and Chat Noir!” the jock says breathlessly, scrambling to his feet and taking off in another dead sprint. At least his athleticism was coming in handy for him. Anyone else minus maybe Alix would have been dead meat and caught long before this.

“You can’t keep me tied for long…!” the Akuma exclaims in his deep voice, before promptly transforming into an eagle and taking to the air. What the—

“Fuck!” Ladybug exclaims, retracting her yoyo and staring up at the Akuma eagle. “ _That’s_ how he managed to get out of my yoyo earlier…!”

“Let’s hope he can’t track Kim right away,” Chat Noir says, jerking his head to the east. “Let’s go find him first.”

“Right. Alright,” Ladybug nods. “How do you know where to go…?”

“Tracking abilities,” the Cat holder grins back at her, showing her his baton. “Literally.”

His baton was calibrated to be able to send calls to Ladybug’s yoyo. In a similar configuration, there was now a little screen glowing green with a map and coordinates, a red dot moving across it.

“Huh. That’s new,” Ladybug muses. “New and _very_ useful.”

“I asked Plagg about other abilities I might have. He told me I could track, but didn’t tell me how. I figured this out on my own,” he shrugs, extending his baton again. “You should ask Tikki about this, too. Not sure if you’d have anything else, like a shield or some wings or something, considering your powers do a lot already. But you can always ask.”

“It’d be pretty useful, that’s for sure,” she agrees, readying her yoyo and taking to the roofs alongside him. “Lead the way, chaton!”

* * *

Chat Noir leads them to a building he recognizes. According to his tracker, Kim’s decided to hide in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, of all places.

Then again, he might be being uncharitable. Kim’s obviously panicked and decided to run to a place he deems as safe, with people he knows will help him. The Dupain-Chengs are the perfect candidates. Still, it makes Chat Noir nervous and worried. He doesn’t want Marinette’s parents to be put in danger, or Marinette herself, if she happens to be around.

Ladybug also seems to hesitate, a look of recognition on her face as they land on the roof of the bakery. “Is this the place…?” she asks, something odd in her voice.

“Yup. Seems like Kim ran straight here for protection,” the leather-clad hero nods.

“Well,” the heroine starts, steeling herself. “We’ve got to warn them and help secure the building. Let’s go.”

* * *

The heroes explain the problem to Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng and a shaken Kim. They help secure the building, sealing the exits, coming up with a plan. If they close everything up, the Animan—the name Chat Noir dubs the Akuma—will have to either break into the bakery or sneak inside as an animal.

The parents and jock all hide up in Marinette’s room to wait it out. Marinette isn’t around, so she must still be hiding out somewhere in the zoo. Hopefully, she’s still safe out there.

“If Animan slips in as something small, we can trap it in this box,” Ladybug starts, holding up a box used for pastries.

“And if Animan turns into something bigger while in the box?” Chat Noir can’t help but ask, as he crouches down next to her behind the bakery counters.

“Uh…We can throw it in a bigger box?” the heroine asks sheepishly.

“Would that bus across the street work?” Chat Noir asks, pointing a claw at the blue bus with Adrien’s face plastered on the side of it. He turns to his partner, finding her eyes gleaming behind her face mask.

“Actually, that’d make the perfect cage,” she says with a sharp grin. “Wanna stand close to the door so we can throw it in there?”

Chat Noir grins back just as sharply. “Of course.”

* * *

The plan is almost perfect.

Animan slips in as a mouse, scurrying inside the bakery and heading straight for the stair’s banister, where they wrapped Kim’s wristband around as a decoy. Chat Noir, hidden in a corner, waits for Ladybug to scoop up the mouse in her box, leaping for the bakery door and opening it.

Ladybug swiftly wraps the box in her yoyo and sends it careening out the door, Chat Noir quick to use his baton as a bat to hit it straight at the bus. The box soars and smacks right against Adrien’s face on the bus advertisement with a loud slap.

The heroes sprint out, heading to the vehicle. No doubt their enemy is either dazed or concussed by their quick thinking.

Chat Noir darts to the front door of the bus while Ladybug strings along the still wrapped-up box. She flings it inside with little fanfare, and the leather-clad hero darts in, mashing buttons and trying to figure out which one seals the doors closed. Ladybug stands next to him also frantically mashing buttons and flipping switches on the console.

“Bus drivers make this look so easy…!” the heroine squeaks, voice a bit panicked.

They hear a low growl behind them. Chat Noir slaps a hand down on the console of buttons with a yelp of “Cataclysm!”. Ladybug squawks, grabbing Chat Noir’s baton straight off his belt.

When he turns to look, the heroine is holding up his extended baton. She digs her heels in, barely holding the panther’s front paws at bay from clawing at her and gnashing teeth from ripping her head right off her shoulders. Chat Noir quickly helps his partner, gripping onto the baton behind her and pushing against the Akuma. The two heave at once, completely in-synch, the panther pushed away by their combined strength.

“Thanks!” Ladybug pants, slipping out from under his grip and giving him his baton back.

“No prob!” he calls, retracting and extending his baton to strike Animan in the middle while the Akuma was in mid-jump, forcing the Akuma back once more. Behind him, the bus is going absolutely haywire, with the control panel completely fried. It’s all loud beeps and wails of the alarm, mingled with the rhythmic slam of the doors, a complete cacophony.

“Out!” the leather-clad hero barks. His partner nods, swan-diving out of the bus doors in the half-second they’re open. Backing up with his baton at the ready, Chat Noir makes sure to keep the panther back until the opportunity arises and he can dive out of the malfunctioning door himself. Animan dives after him and smacks into the closed doors like a bird flying straight into a clean window.

Ladybug is quick to press against the other end of the bus doors with a red polka-dot medieval shield that’s nearly her size, a gigantic rectangle of metal, obviously her Lucky Charm. Animan pounces again, but the doors—and Ladybug—don’t budge.

“Chat, the other door!” she calls. He quickly extends his baton and leaps, managing to keep it closed right before the panther tries to slam against it. His arms ache and shake, but he shifts his grip and presses the baton firmly across the entrance to keep the doors shut.

Animan transforms into an eagle, trying to peck at the windows to no effect. Then a mouse tries to scurry out of the door, but Chat holds it closed with his foot. Another transformation into a bear, trying to damage the windshield.

“I think he’s slowing down…! The transformations are taking up too much of his energy!” Ladybug calls her observations from the front half of the bus.

Animan cycles through a few more transformations, before seemingly collapsing from exhaustion. The heroes both shoot each other looks and nods, entering the vehicle through the entrances they’d guarded. Ladybug is just a touch faster as she rushes in with her medieval shield held in front of her like a knight of old.

“No…!” Animan snarls, now back as a panther, trying to jump at the heroine, but she holds her ground with the shield. When Chat Noir sees that the Akuma has a clawed paw pressed against the surface, the purple charm on display, he doesn’t hesitate to lance his baton straight at the item.

It’s a clean hit, too. The charm breaks. The panther is enveloped by purple energy before melting into a confused man with dark skin and auburn hair.

Ladybug sighs in relief. “Miraculous Ladybug!” she calls, throwing her huge shield up to cast the Miraculous Cure.

Chat Noir is quick to lean over and give his partner a fist bump. “Pound it! Now, I gotta go, my time’s almost up!”

“Go for it, chaton. I’ve gotta go, too,” she nods, and he nods back. The two are quick to make their exit, Ladybug from the front of the bus and Chat Noir from the back. On his way out, he sees Alya running up to the bus, Kim exiting the Dupain-Cheng bakery and following the blogger.

Well, whatever drama happened between Kim, Alya, and the Akuma—Alya’s father, from what he can tell—that’s between them. No time to stay around and wonder about it. He’s already revealed his identity to someone today, no need to bring more people into the loop.

So Chat Noir quickly dives behind the dumpster of the bakery, and de-transforms. Man, what’s with him and hiding behind dumpsters…?

* * *

Adrien stays crouching, taking a tentative peek around the dumpster to look out into the street. It seems like Alya is leading her father out of the bus with Kim’s help. They’re talking, and Mr. Cesaire pats Kim’s shoulder, seemingly giving him an apology.

Hoping he doesn’t get noticed right away, Adrien leaves his hiding place and looks around the street. Everything is back to normal, thankfully enough. No more rampaging zoo animals, the bus doesn’t look battered to hell, and the news choppers have left from circling the area.

“Adrien! Hey…!”

Adrien turns, smiling at Marinette, who jogs up to him. “Oh, Marinette! I’m glad you’re okay!” he calls, feeling relieved as he steps forwards and brings her into a warm hug. “Me and Nino got lost in the zoo when the animals escaped, so neither of us really knew if you and Alya were okay…”

“Me and Alya got separated, but it seems like we’re both in one piece,” the half-Chinese girl explains, letting go of him. She smiles back at him, patting his arms. “Thanks for worrying. What about Nino?”

Adrien tries very hard not to sweat nervously at the question. Though he can’t really stop himself from blushing, suddenly reminded of Nino’s confession before Adrien had to transform into Chat Noir. “Um…”

“ADRIEN…!” a wonderfully familiar voice calls, and Adrien’s heart skips a beat. He turns, watching Nino running down the street with a wide, relieved smile on his face.

“NINO!” Adrien calls back excitedly with a wave. He makes to run forwards, but hesitates, suddenly remembering about Marinette. He glances over his shoulder at her, only to have her smile fondly at him and nod.

“Go on,” she urges, slapping him on the back.

“Thanks. Sorry,” Adrien gets out quickly, before turning back and running towards Nino.

The two boys pretty much meet in the middle of the street. Adrien stops and grounds himself right before Nino rams into him, pulling him into a tackle of a hug.

“’m glad you’re safe and beat that Akuma,” Nino murmurs as he nuzzles their temples together.

“Thanks,” Adrien says breathlessly with a little chuckle, wrapping his arms tight around the other. “I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

The two stay like that, wrapped up in one another’s embrace, finally back together and unwilling to part. Adrien’s not sure how they stay like that, but he eventually hears Kim loudly say, “You see that, Mr. Cesaire? _Those_ two obviously like each other. Me and Alya aren’t _nearly_ at that level.”

“I don’t think _anyone’s_ at their level, minus Mylene and Ivan,” Alya hoots with a laugh.

Adrien feels his face burn, detaching himself from the other and scrambling away. Nino looks similarly flustered, blushing from his ears down to his neck.

The duo carefully turn to look at the little audience they’ve gathered. Alya, Kim, and Marinette are watching them with matching, shit-eating grins. Mr. Cesaire is standing between Alya and Kim, looking bemused, and Marinette’s parents are flanking her with kind smiles.

“Please tell me you two are finally together. _Please_ ,” Marinette says, clenching her fists and wiggling in place excitedly.

“Ummmm…” Nino hums with an embarrassed laugh, standing as stiff as a board.

Adrien sighs, turning a fond and comforting smile at the other, reaching out to thread their hands together. He turns back to the others, Marinette squealing and Alya thrusting her hands up and yelling “FINALLY!” and Kim laughing joyously while he claps for them. The blond feels fond exasperation fill him as he waits for his friends to calm down from their little freak-out celebration.

“Well, we confessed during the whole mess at the zoo,” he starts, scratching his cheek. “So, I guess we are. Right, Nino?”

He turns to grin at his best friend—boyfriend?—who grins back sheepishly. “Yeah, we are.”

“Good for you boys!” Sabine tells them warmly.

“Thanks Mama Sabine,” Nino chuckles.

“Adrien and Nino, is that right? It’s nice to finally meet you both,” Alya’s father says, stepping forwards to shake both of their hands. “Alya’s told me lots about her gay best friends. Congratulations on getting together!”

“ _Dad_! They’re not just my ‘gay best friends’,” Alya huffs, using air quotes. “I mean, they’re super gay for each other, but they’re still just Adrien and Nino.”

“Right, of course. Meant no offense by it,” Mr. Cesaire says quickly, with an awkward smile, rubbing at his beard.

“None taken?” Adrien shrugs, turning to share a look with Nino, who just shrugs back. “I don’t know a lot of things, sir, but I do know that Alya is an amazing and loyal friend that I’m glad I have. And so’s Marinette, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng.”

“I’m glad!” Marinette’s father laughs. “Now, why don’t we go inside the bakery to celebrate with some treats? You’re glad to join us, Kim, Mr. Cesaire.”

“I should be going back to check in on the zoo…” Alya’s father trails off, looking to his daughter before smiling gently. The look softens his stern face considerably. “But I’m still feeling a bit tired from the whole Akuma business. A treat wouldn’t hurt.”

“Whoohoo! Free cookies!” Kim whoops with a fist pump, only to be swatted by Alya on the arm.

“Don’t you go making a dare that you can eat the most cookies, Kim,” the dark-skinned girl drawls with a little smirk. “You won’t save any for the rest of us that way.”

“He actually tried that once, when we were eight,” Marinette pipes up with a chirp and a too-innocent smile, as Kim pales. “Let’s just say, I think Kim’s learned his lesson.”

The jock gives a dramatic shudder. “Yeah, no. I did.”

Marinette starts to laugh, as well as her parents. Soon enough, laughter spreads to the rest of them, settling over them like a warm blanket.

Adrien snorts and cackles as he holds Nino’s hand, making their way into the bakery. It felt good to laugh. It loosens the knot of stress inside him.

* * *

Adrien would normally feel stressed at having to have such a serious talk, but something about the way Nino holds his hand and passes a thumb over it soothes something inside him.

It’s a hard discussion to have, and one they should have in private. A talk about Adrien’s secret identity.

They go to the park. It’s not like they really have any other options. It’s impossible for Nino to get into Adrien’s house, and highly suspicious as well, even if they _do_ manage it. They’d both be heavily monitored the second Nino steps into the gates.

As for Nino’s house, he’s got a very nosy little brother that will no doubt demand their attention. Nino also admits that his Moms will want to talk to them about their relationship and boundaries, so there’d be no chance for them to be alone to have the whole superhero conversation, either. The option of using a café or other restaurant is out, for the amount of people hanging around and liable to eavesdrop just because Adrien is Adrien Agreste. So, the park it is.

They sit under a tree in probably the most out-of-the-way and private spot they can find. It’ll be hard for people to sneak up on them with the space so open, and Adrien’s got Plagg to help keep lookout as well.

The Kwami gives him an uncharacteristically serious look as he hovers by Adrien.

“Tell him however much or little you want, kit. The cat’s already out of the bag,” the little God of Destruction snorts, breaking the spell of tension. Adrien snorts as well. “If you go showing me to him, just warn me first, alright?”

“Alright,” he nods. He turns his gaze back to Nino, who frowns at him, considering. To the bespectacled boy, it must look like he’s just talking to thin air. No one can see the Kwami if they don’t have a Miraculous, or ‘allow’ someone to tap into the Miraculous’ power to see them.

Adrien’s still not fully sure of the details of the second option, but he feels like he could figure it out.

“So…surprise,” the blond says, giving a weak set of jazz hands. Nino blinks, before breaking out into soft laughter.

“A totally _rad_ surprise,” the other teases with a slight grin. The grin fades as he reaches out to thread his hand through Adrien’s once more. “So. My best friend and boyfriend is a superhero.”

“That I am,” Adrien nods, raising his opposite hand. The one with his ring. He shows it to Nino. “This ring here? This is how I get my powers.”

“The Miraculous?” Nino asks.

Adrien nods. “The Miraculous. The thing Hawkmoth wants, probably for some nefarious plan involving world domination.” His joke teases a slight smile from Nino, but its worried more than anything.

“The reason Hawkmoth’s targeting you and Ladybug,” the dark-skinned boy states.

Adrien sighs. “I…yeah. It’s the Cat Miraculous. Gives me the power of destruction. It’s one of the most powerful magical artifacts that exists, I think?”

“You think?” Nino asks, tilting his head.

“Well, I don’t exactly know much,” the blond huffs. “I don’t exactly have much of a guide to all of this. Ladybug’s apparently met some old guy who knows more, but I haven’t met him myself. She told me what little he told her, since he’s apparently super cryptic.”

Nino wrinkles his nose. “Cryptic old man that barely tells you anything about your powers? Wow, what is this, a superhero movie?”

Adrien finds himself laughing, the sound bursting from his chest. He laughs and he clutches Nino’s hand, leaning and pressing his forehead against the other’s shoulder. “ _God_ , I know, right? My life’s a fucking superhero movie or TV show. Some top-tier magical-girl anime shit, right here.”

“Sounds like it,” Nino chuckles along, rubbing his back.

They stay like that, in a loose embrace, as Adrien’s laughter peters out and he thinks through what he wants to tell Nino next. There isn’t much left to tell Nino, except…

“There’s one other thing I need to introduce you to. If he’ll let me, of course.”

He pulls back to see Nino’s contemplative expression. The bespectacled boy looks vaguely at the space above Adrien’s left shoulder—the place Plagg had been, when Adrien had spoken to him last. “Hm. Does it gotta do with why you looked like you were talkin’ to thin air earlier…?”

“Yeah, actually,” Adrien smiles, tilting his head back to look at where the Kwami was perched as lookout up in the branches. He gives a little call of, “Plagg…?”

The Kwami flies down to him, perching himself on Adrien’s shoulder like a parrot on their pirate. Adrien turns his smile back to Nino, who’s looking between Adrien and the space on the blond’s shoulder.

The model shuffles around and offers his hand with the ring. Nino takes it automatically. Adrien presses their palms together, making sure Nino’s skin presses against the ring.

“There’s a way to get you to see him, I think. Lemme see if I can try and figure it out,” Adrien starts, closing his eyes and concentrating.

He can feel the energy in his ring, the bubbling and roiling inky blackness. He can feel Plagg perched on his shoulder, a miniature sun of pure power in a tiny form.

He breathes in and breathes out, slow and even. Nino’s hand is warm in his, like sunshine. He takes a thread of energy from his ring, and tries to visualize wrapping that thread around Nino’s hand, a way to connect them and share energy through that connection.

He hears Nino gasp, and opens his eyes. Nino’s staring straight at Plagg, into the Kwami’s angular lime eyes.

“ _Woah_ ,” the dark-skinned boy breathes, leaning in to stare closer at Plagg. “What _are_ you?”

“I’m a Kwami,” Plagg says in that nasally voice of his. Adrien turns to look at the little God, who’s smiling wide and pleased, like a cat that got the cream. Or cheese, in Plagg’s case. “Plagg’s the name. God of destruction. I give Adrien his powers.”

“So _rad_ ,” Nino breathes. Plagg preens under the praise.

The Kwami turns to grin at Adrien. “I like ‘im. I like your boy.”

Adrien finds his face warming, smiling shyly back at Plagg. “Oh, uh. Thanks, Plagg.”

“And nice job figuring out how to give him some of your power,” the little God goes on, voice full of pride, smile turning sharp and toothy. “That’s a really advanced technique only the monks, or super experienced holders, know how to do. Congrats, you’re a natural.”

Adrien finds a rush of serotonin fill him, giddy and proud and pleased at the praise. At the knowledge that he was good at using his Miraculous and its abilities, was capable of doing something only _experienced holders_ knew how. A lot of the time, he felt like he was trailing behind Ladybug in terms of being useful, so it’s good to have a reminder that he could keep up with her, had his own strengths when it comes to his abilities.

“’Course Adrien would figure it out. He’s amazing, like that,” Nino agrees, warm and fond. Adrien beams back at him with a blush on his cheeks.

“Kit, you should take your boy with you when you meet the Guardian,” Plagg pipes up after a long moment of the boys just smiling at one another.

“Huh? Guardian?” the blond parrots back, realizing right after he’s said it what the Kwami means. “Oh! The old man Ladybug met! Is that who you mean?”

“Yup,” Plagg nods, bobbing in the air and looking between the boys. “He’ll wanna know about this entire situation with you bringing someone else in on the secret. For both your protections, and stuff. The info about the Miraculous is dangerous in the wrong hands, after all.”

“That makes sense,” Nino pipes up, “If Hawkmoth’s after the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous for—whatever evil mastermind plan he’s cooked up—” The dark-skinned boy grimaces as he turns to Adrien. “’Til then, I’m pretty much just your normal human boyfriend that knows too much.”

“It’s fine. I can protect you until we figure something out,” Adrien says firmly, squeezing his hand. Nino gives him a nervous smile in return.

“Might wanna wrap this up. Sharing power’s an exhausting business,” Plagg states, flying to wave a paw at the both of them. “You’re gonna feel it after you disconnect, just a warning.”

“Okay,” Adrien nods. He closes his eyes, and concentrates again. He doesn’t want to just sever the connection suddenly, just in case it causes adverse effects to either Nino or himself. So he carefully takes the thread of power he wrapped around Nino’s hand and retracts it, pulling it back so it all goes back into the ring.

Once he finishes, the ring flashes hot. The two boys hiss, detaching their hands. Adrien is suddenly hit by a headache.

“ _Ow_ , okay,” he mutters, while Nino groans next to him. He blinks away the pain and looks over to see the other rubbing at his temples.

“That’s _gnarly_ , dude,” the dark-skinned boy states with a wince, shaking his head, cropped curls glinting in the dappled afternoon sun. “Woah. Alright. And your little friend’s disappeared, too, so I guess you did it right?”

“He’s still here,” the blond says, eyes darting down to the Kwami curling up on the grass. “You just can’t see or hear him.”

“I want a lotta cheese for this,” Plagg grumbles with a yawn. “It’s been a real stressful day, y’know! I deserve some quality Camembert, and enough to eat my weight of it!”

“Sorry, Plagg. I’ll make sure to get you a nice chunk of Camembert,” Adrien tells the little God, apologetic and sheepish. He turns back to Nino, gently taking his wrist. “Is your hand okay?”

Nino blinks back at him, before looking down and flexing his hand. “Huh. Yeah, it just felt like the ring burned it? But I don’t feel or see anything now.”

“Well, it’s good to know for later,” Adrien sighs, shifting in his seat and leaning over to lay his head on Nino’s shoulder. “I’m pooped.”

His boyfriend gives a warm chuckle. “You need a catnap, kitty cat?”

“The biggest,” the blond agrees, smile twitching on his lips.

“Eh, go for it. I’ll wake you up in a bit.”

“Thanks,” Adrien says, sighing when Nino loops his arm around him. Adrien settles himself, snuggling into the other’s warmth.

Today was a hard day. But it was more than worth it. Nino was worth it.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They did it. It took the boys literally 38k to confess to each other, but they finally did it. My God—
> 
> Alya’s dad doesn’t get Akumatized because Kim wanted to race a panther here. He saw Alya trying to talk Kim out of his stupidity of such a decision, and assumed that Kim was flirting with his daughter. Mr. Cesaire promptly went into Papa Bear mode, ala Weredad.
> 
> I wanted to do something with the tracking ability Chat Noir uses in Animan, and then it never pops up again. Think of it as a subset of powers the Cat Miraculous has. There’s a lot of beta concepts for unused secondary powers in the official Miraculous Artbook. Not to mention, Ladybug has multiple abilities (Lucky Charm, Miracle Cure) and Chat Noir deserves a balance as well.
> 
> I also introduce “sharing power” of a Miraculous, because I wanted Nino to meet Plagg, for one. Two, I wanted to try and explore different things with the Miraculous. If you can combine Miraculous, what says you can’t try and share the powers, or tie yourself to someone else with it…? What if there are certain mechanics to being connected to a Miraculous?
> 
> ~~Y’know, just plot stuff for later, if I ever make a sequel.~~


	9. Feelings and Festivities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have once again accidentally written too much content and added another chapter to the chapter count. God diggity dang it. 
> 
> Oh well, it happens. That means more content for you readers! Which I hope is a positive.

* * *

Dating Nino was worth every single inconvenience and point of impracticality. Mainly, keeping it a secret. Adrien wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed of dating Nino, far from it! But the fact of the matter was that he was still a famous model with a ton of fans, and an incredibly controlling Father on top of it.

It’s these worries that cropped up in his mind as he readied himself to go to school. Sitting in his limo with Gorilla at the wheel, he felt his phone buzz in his hands.

He looked down and smiled at the text from Nino.

Nino

8:16

_morning! i’ll b waiting 4 u @ school_

8:17

_Morning!_

_See you then!_

8:17

_:D_

8:18

_:3_

They texted dumb emojis to each other until Adrien finally noticed the car slowing down. He quickly puts his phone away, vibrating with excitement in his seat.

“Thanks, Gorilla!” he sends the cheer to his bodyguard-slash-driver. Gorilla grunts and smiles back at him through the rearview mirror.

The blond quickly exits, all but running up the steps to get to school. Nino is there just inside the entrance, waiting for him with a wide, beaming grin. “Hey!”

“Hey,” Adrien grins back, suddenly feeling very shy.

Nino just jerks his head down the hall. “Let’s see how wild Homeroom gets, huh?”

Adrien nods his head and steels his nerves. Despite them walking next to each other, Nino’s hand feels so far away, and Adrien’s hands itch to reach out and hold it. He doesn’t, because they’re still in the courtyard and that’s too open a place and anyone will see, but he wants to regardless.

* * *

Adrien waits until they’ve slid into the door of Homeroom to finally latch onto Nino’s hand. Because he wants to, but mostly for support. Especially to face their classmates.

The rest of the class is there, settled in their seats and waiting. Even Marinette’s managed to arrive on time. They all turn as one to stare at Adrien and Nino. To stare at their joined hands.

And then the class absolutely _erupts_.

Crows of “finally!” and “awesome!” and “congratulations!” rain down on them, alongside whoops and squeals of joy. Adrien smiles, cheeks warm as he scratches at one sheepishly. Next to him, Nino rubs the back of his neck bashfully.

A loud whistle cuts through the din. Alya stands up from her seat and makes her way to the front of the room, Marinette by her side.

“Alright, alright, calm down, y’all!” the blogger calls, eyes gleaming with amusement.

The class manages to calm down, though everyone is beaming at the newest couple. Everyone minus Chloe and Sabrina, that is. Those two are quiet, Chloe’s face a blank mask while Sabrina was smiling softly at the two boys.

“I’m glad you’re all so happy and supportive of these two,” Marinette starts, using an even voice. “But as Class President, I wanna establish some rules on this.”

Their classmates go quiet, gazes intent. Some of them straighten in their seats. The atmosphere turning serious is a massive whiplash Adrien doesn’t expect. He exchanges a baffled glance with Nino, tightening their hands.

“We all know how strict Adrien’s father is,” Marinette says, everyone nodding their heads along with her, “So this _can’t_ get back to him.”

“That means keeping the gossip and comments about the boys to a minimum, or outright not making ‘em, when we’re out of this room,” Alya says firmly, crossing her arms.

“Adrien’s already put under a microscope a lot. Let’s make sure we’re a free and comfortable place for him and Nino to be in, alright?” Marinette goes on, firmness in her gentle voice.

Their classmates show their agreement verbally, nodding their heads, giving thumbs up. It’s pretty much a unanimous decision. Even Chloe gives a curt nod at the suggestion, not making a peep on the contrary.

Adrien feels his gaze burn at the insurmountable, unanimous support, the _lengths_ his classmates and friends were willing to go for him.

The fact that Adrien was Adrien Agreste was stressful at normal times. He really _was_ put under a lot of scrutiny, had to be on the lookout for fans, even while he went to school. But being in a non-straight relationship while his Father is breathing down his neck? His Father, who wasn’t a fan of Nino in the first place, because of the other’s willingness to defend Adrien’s rights to have friends and normal experiences outside the stifling and regimented schedules of his life? It made things exceedingly more stressful.

“Don’t worry, we’re not selling you boys out anytime soon,” Alix declares, the others around her nodding.

“Yeah!” Rose exclaims, thrusting a clench fist in the air. “You’re safe with us!”

“And if someone _does_ , I’ll handle ‘em for you,” Kim says, only half-joking, as he cracks his knuckles and gives a very sharp grin.

Marinette and Alya turn their gazes to the front corner desk to stare. Like a magnet, everyone else’s gaze goes there as well. At Chloe and Sabrina.

“Um…” the bespectacled redhead stutters out, hunching in on herself, noticing everyone’s attention.

The blonde is unruffled as she sneers back at the Vice and Class President. “What’re you looking at _me_ for?” she snaps waspishly.

“Well,” Marinette starts, looking like she was trying very hard to think of a diplomatic way to go about speaking with the heiress. “You’re a really influential person, Chloe. Your word can do a lot—"

“I was Adrien’s friend before any of you losers!” Chloe snarls, standing up from her seat and slamming her hands on her desk. “If _anyone_ should be the one threatening to deal with snitches and blabbers, it should be _me_.”

Pretty much the entire class stares or gapes at the queen bee with unabashed shock. Adrien is surprised, yes, but he’s more joyful than anything. A huge smile spreads on his face, because _this_ is the Chloe he used to be friends with when they were kids. Bossy, protective, bullheaded, and as loyal as she was feral.

“Chloe…” Sabrina says softly, placing a gentle hand on the other’s elbow. Chloe’s aggressive stance seems to shift and soften slightly, though she still stares straight into Marinette’s eyes unwaveringly, blue clashing with blue.

“… _Oh_ ,” Marinette squeaks with wide eyes, after a very long moment, looking completely wrong-footed. “Um. Alright?”

Adrien laughs, trying to cover it up with a hand, but he can’t help it. Everyone looks like they’ve been slapped in the face with a fish, so incredibly shocked that Chloe was being so protective, so _caring_.

“Thanks, Chloe,” the model tells his old friend warmly. Maybe…Maybe they can be friends again? That would be nice. Chloe seems nicer, seems like she knows boundaries better than before.

“Don’t mention it. Literally,” the queen bee deadpans, imperiously settling herself back down in her chair, though her ears are pink. Next to her, Sabrina beams like the sun.

The classroom door opens just then. “Oh! Good morning, class!” Miss Bustier says, looking bemused at the scene she enters. “Is there an announcement you girls are making today?”

“Nope, we already finished, Miss Bustier,” Alya says with an innocent smile.

“We’ll get back to our seats,” Marinette nods quickly.

Adrien exchanges a glance with Nino, and they both grin as they let go of their hands and go to sit in their usual seats. When they settle down, they slip their hands under their desk and thread them together once more.

* * *

Adrien can’t stop holding Nino’s hand whenever possible. It’s addicting.

It’s like a barrier he never knew existed has broken between them, where Adrien was now allowed to be as close to Nino and touch him as much as he wants. Nino also reciprocates, squeezing Adrien’s hand and pressing their thighs together and doing all these little touches he hadn’t really done before.

It’s odd to describe, because they were already rather physically affectionate before. It’s just… _heightened_ , now that they’re dating.

They stick to physical affection like handholding, neither straying into kissing yet. The only time that had happened was when Adrien pecked Nino on the cheek as Chat Noir. Adrien gets flustered whenever he thinks of kissing Nino, and Nino probably thinks the same with the way he’ll sometimes glance down at Adrien’s lips before looking away with a flush.

They’re too new a couple, Adrien thinks with a racing heart. But…that’s okay. They can take their time. There’s no pressure for either of them.

* * *

Adrien knows that Chloe asking to talk to him without pressuring him and forcing him is rare. So, when she asks him before he leaves with Nino escorting him to fencing practice, Adrien knows it’s serious. Chloe genuinely has something she needs to talk to him about.

Nino frowns at Chloe for a long moment, before looking over at Adrien. Adrien smiles at nods at him, hoping to convey to Nino that he’ll be alright. His boyfriend relaxes, nodding back with a grin of his own.

“I’ll be watching from the stands, right?” the dark-skinned boy says, pressing a kiss to the crown of Adrien’s head. The blond’s face goes warm and his smile widens at the action.

“Alright,” he says, giving a little wave. His hand feels cold and empty without Nino’s intertwined in his, but his heart is warm from the affection and promise that his boyfriend will be there to support him.

“What do you wanna talk about, Chloe?” the model asks his old friend as he turns to her, hands in his pockets. He notes that Sabrina is nowhere to be seen. Another point to add to Chloe sincerely wanting to talk to him, without her friend(?) here to back her up.

“So…You and Nino Lahiffe, huh?” the heiress starts, in a surprisingly neutral voice.

“Yup,” Adrien nods, unable to stop the dorky smile on his lips brought by just the thought of his boyfriend.

Chloe sighs, cocking her hip and crossing her arms. “Of all the people… Literally _anyone_ you could choose to date, and you go for the dorky DJ-wannabe in our class.”

Adrien’s smile instantly slides off his face, replaced with a frown. “Listen, Chloe. I know you maybe liked me, but—I didn’t mean to hurt you. You know that, right?”

The heiress snorts. “Don’t worry, I know. You wouldn’t even hurt a fly.” Her voice softens alongside her expression as she notes, “You can’t even hurt the people that’ve hurt you…”

The model runs a hand through his hair, feeling deeply awkward. He’s not sure if she’s talking about herself or his Father. He’s afraid of the answer to that particular question, so he doesn’t say anything.

The queen bee shakes her head, as if to rid herself of her own melancholy. “Whatever. That’s not the point.” She raises her gaze from her shoes, crystal blue eyes meeting emerald green. “You’re happy. For once in your life.”

Adrien finds himself nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m happy. Nino…makes me really happy.” That’s the understatement of the century, but Adrien just can’t find the exact words to explain the sheer and insurmountable amount of joy that being with Nino brings him. Plus, he’s pretty Chloe wouldn’t appreciate him going on a rant about it.

Chloe smirks back at him, a hand propped on her hip. “Oh, I can tell.”

The model blinks back. “I—wait, really?” He hasn’t been friends with Chloe in any significant way for a while now, so the fact that she can tell…

“The two of you are so disgustingly in love, I’d have to be blind and deaf not to see it,” Chloe huffs with a dramatic roll of her eyes, a smile playing at the edges of her lips. “Puh- _lease_ , Adri. Give me more credit than that.”

Adrien finds himself laughing sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, face warm. “Uh…Yeah, okay. Fair.”

“The Horrificator aftermath pretty much confirmed it for me. There was _no_ heterosexual explanation for you two hugging for a full minute,” Chloe goes on with a smirk, hands on her hips.

“It—It wasn’t a full minute!” Adrien yelps, before considering. “…Was it?”

“It was. Max timed you,” she states in complete deadpan, smirk widening. “Add in the gooey looks you gave each other, and it was something straight from a fucking romcom.”

“Oh my God,” Adrien groans, burying his burning face in his hands. Chloe _cackles_.

“You’re both disasters,” she snickers, reaching out to flick Adrien in the head.

“Hey!” he yelps, rubbing at the spot with a pout. “I hate when you do that…”

Chloe just smirks back at him in the most brattish way possible, like she was still eight and just strong-armed Adrien into playing dress-up again, practicing her makeup skills on him. “Whatever, dork. Run off to your little boyfriend and fencing practice, before you’re late. Go on.”

Adrien snorts, lips twitching up in a faint smile. “Alright. Thanks, Chlo.”

“For what, Adri?” the queen bee asks cryptically, before wagging her fingers at him. “I’ve got important business I need to attend to, now. Tootles.”

The blonde flounces away, ponytail bouncing with her every step. Adrien shakes his head and smiles at his old friend’s dramatics.

Hm…Maybe him and Chloe were still friends, actually. This proved that she still cared about him. That she still remembered their old habits and dynamics from when they were kids. That she could banter and talk to him without clinging to him and mooning like a fangirl.

Heh. Adrien never expected going to public school would give him so much. Freedom. Friends. A boyfriend. And a mending of bridges between him and Chloe, after they’d drifted apart…

Adrien smiles. Things were looking up.

* * *

Adrien looks up, blinking his eyes blearily at Nino smiling down at him. “Wake up, Sunshine,” Nino teases with a crooked smile. “Study Hall’s over.”

“Oh…” he mumbles, giving a little yawn. “Thanks.” He doesn’t detach himself from Nino’s arm. In fact, he snuggles further into his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“C’mon, I can’t be your pillow forever,” Nino chides with a chuckle.

“Mmm, no, I think that sounds perfect,” Adrien jokes back, sighing and groaning as he forces himself to sit up. “Thanks again for letting me sleep on you.”

“Damn, wish that were me,” Nathaniel groans groggily from a table over, slumped in his seat, hair mussed from his own nap. “Couple goals _and_ nap goals? Totally unfair.”

“You’d nap literally anywhere like a hobo if you could,” Alix drawls, studiously putting aside what looked to be her completed World History homework. “And if you want a boyfriend, you have to actually, like, talk to people.”

“Social interactions? In _this_ economy? No thanks,” the redhead huffs back.

Adrien finds himself laughing at their antics. Nathaniel and Alix were an interesting pair of best friends, with what seemed to be wildly different personalities. Unlike Chloe and Adrien, who also knew each other young because of their parents working together, Alix and Nathaniel have stayed close through a similar love of art and action movies.

“I mean, Juleka has Rose sleeping on her all the time,” Nino points out to Nathaniel, rotating and stretching out his arm that Adrien had stolen as a pillow.

“Yeah, but Alix won’t let me do that with her or else I’m ‘forming bad habits’ and ‘keeping her from finishing her homework’,” Nathaniel says with air quotes.

Marinette turns to her best friend, who she’d used a couple times to nap on. “Alya, am I forming bad habits and keeping you from finishing your homework?” the half-Chinese girl asks the blogger curiously.

“Yup,” Alya answers instantly with a nod. “I don’t really mind it, though. Your schedule is crazy busy, and you need all the sleep you can get.”

“I want a refund on my best friend,” Nathaniel sighs forlornly. Alix smacks him loving on the arm with her textbook. “ _Ow_.”

“I didn’t even do it hard, you baby. That was a love tap,” Alix says, sticking her tongue out.

The artist deadpans, “Best Friendship ended with Alix, now Kim is my new best friend.”

“Please, take him,” Max drawls.

Kim gasps in offense. “Wow, Max. Wowwwww.”

Alya bursts into hooting cackles and Marinette snorts. Adrien giggles against Nino’s shoulder, feeling oh so overwhelmingly fond of his classmates.

* * *

Adrien feels overwhelmingly fond and proud of his classmates as they cheer for Juleka and Rose when the girls come in holding hands and Rose loudly announces, “JULEKA’S MY GIRLFRIEND!”

The model smiles wide, calling out his congratulations and clapping for the new couple. The part of Juleka’s face that is visible is beet-red, but she’s smiling shyly at the loud support. Adrien catches her eye and winks, sending her double finger guns, and her smile widens. Rose is beaming like the sun all the while.

“Looks like we’ve got the gays _and_ the lesbians! Nice!” Alix whoops loudly, standing up from her seat and thrusting her fists in the air. Their classmates show their mirth, some breaking out into laughter, some giggling or snorting, some downright cackling along with Alix. Even Sabrina is giggling along, Chloe giving a snort and an amused smirk.

Juleka tugs Rose along to Adrien’s desk. The goth girl grins at him toothily. “Thanks for your advice, Adrien,” she manages to say loud enough for him to hear her through the din.

“You did it! Congrats!” he replies with a beam, Juleka giving him a little wave before walking up the steps to her and Rose’s desk, Rose all but skipping next to her with their hands clasped.

Adrien’s smile feels like it’s liable to split his face in half. He’s glad Juleka managed to finally find the courage to confess, and that Rose reciprocated. They’ll make an amazing couple, he’s sure. They already supported and protected one another, and despite their contrasting aesthetics and personalities, they got along amazingly. It was obvious they both cared for one another very much.

Nino hooks an arm around his neck. “What’s this about you giving advice?” the other says in an undertone against his ear.

The blond finds himself flushing, turning to look at his boyfriend. “W-Well, uh…I told Juleka a few weeks back to go for it with Rose?”

Nino smirks at him, raising a brow. “ _You_? Giving love advice? Wow.”

“Sh-shut up,” Adrien sputters, pressing his palm against Nino’s head and trying to turn it so he doesn’t have to see Nino’s smug look.

“Mister Oblivious As A Rock,” Nino coos, grabbing Adrien’s wrist and forcing his hand away from his face.

“ _Hey_ , I figured it out eventually—”

Nino just smirks and leans in closer. “Fine, is Mister I-swear-Nino’s-just-a-friend more accurate for you—”

“Shut _up_ , Nino,” he laughs, entranced by the way his boyfriend’s eyes twinkle with impishness, his body feeling magnetized to Nino’s.

“Class…! Please settle down!” Miss Bustier calls from the front, clapping her hands. “Nino, Adrien, please keep the PDA rules in mind.”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” Adrien squeaks, face aflame, almost launching himself out of his seat with the force of him parting from his boyfriend. Next to him in her own desk, Chloe snickers. He sends her a pout at the betrayal.

The model settles back in his seat, trying to keep his attention to his Homeroom teacher and get over his embarrassment. But he feels Nino nudge his knee.

Chancing a glance, Nino gives him an apologetic smile, though his brown eyes were still gleaming with amused impishness. Adrien bites his lip and turns back to the front, but not before lowering his other hand under his desk. Nino quickly grabs it, rubbing his thumb over Adrien’s knuckles in apology, and the blond finds himself melting, just a bit.

He shoots a little grin over at Nino, who smiles back at him softly. Adrien’s heart feels full to bursting with affection.

* * *

Adrien’s heart beats quick as he gives Nino an affectionate smile while stepping out of his car. This time, he’d asked—well, begged— Gorilla to use one of their smaller cars to take him to his destination. Gorilla had crumpled like wet paper under Adrien’s puppy dog eyes.

Thankfully, the SUV was much more inconspicuous than his usual limo. Adrien’s sure that with that, coupled with his choice of hoodie, he wouldn’t catch any attention.

Today, Nino and Adrien were going on another date. They couldn’t really do much since they were still young teenagers, but there was plenty of things to do around Paris, Adrien’s sure. And regardless, no matter what they’ll do, he’s sure to enjoy it because he’s doing it with Nino. Even being in the park right now felt almost _magical_ with the fact that they were dating.

“Hey…!” Adrien calls with a little wave, smile on full force.

“Hey!” Nino calls back while smiling crookedly, ruffling a hand through his cropped curls, [no cap in sight. The other was wearing a blue shirt over a white t-shirt and dark jeans, plus his usual headphones slung over his neck](https://kapane-luyeshu.tumblr.com/post/641394908166569985/a-comission-for-mexicancat-girl#notes), in what Adrien realized was a sort of ‘go-to’ outfit style for Nino when it came to dates.

It made Adrien a little embarrassed to realize with hindsight that Nino had intended Valentine’s Day to be a confession and date, as well as the Zoo. Especially with all the effort Nino put into both outings, including the wardrobe change.

Now, seeing his boyfriend try and impress him with a bit of added effort to his outfit made Adrien feel warm and giddy. Adrien thought his boyfriend already looked cute in his usual casual clothes for school, but the fact that Nino is attempting to ‘clean up’ for him is incredibly charming.

Nino slides his glasses back on his handsome nose. “Ah, the return of one of your hoodies, I see,” he teases gently, tugging on one of Adrien’s hoodie tassels. “Loving the cat ears on this one. Very fitting.”

Adrien snickers, smirking back and raising a hand in a cat-paw motion. “Like, nya, y’know?”

The other laughs brightly, throwing his head back. Adrien is entranced by the smooth stretch of his boyfriend’s _very_ nice neck. He would very much like to kiss that neck, some day.

Feeling just a slight bit warm under the collar, Adrien goes on casually with, “So…I see you’ve abandoned your cap again. Good choice.”

Nino rubs the back of his neck, shifting his weight. His mirth seems to evaporate, smile turning small and… self-conscious, almost. “Do you…Uh. Do you not like my cap?”

Adrien blinks back, surprised. “Huh? Oh, I like your cap just fine!” he says with a little smile, watching as the nervousness bleeds out of Nino’s shoulders. “It’s something you like wearing, and it almost feels a part of you, y’know? An important part to the Nino Lahiffe style.”

“Heh. Yeah, I guess?” Nino chuckles bashfully.

“But I mean…” the blond trails off, feeling a hint mischievous as he admits, “You also look pre-tty handsome without the cap on, I’ve gotta say.”

The other’s cheeks flush. “Oh?”

“Yup,” Adrien winks back. “I’m a lucky guy, having such a cool and handsome boyfriend.”

“Pffff, stop it,” the dark-skinned boy says with a wave of his hand, looking very much flattered. “ _You’re_ the handsome boyfriend between us.”

Adrien taps his bottom lip, making an exaggerated noise of contemplation. “Mmmm, nope, I’m pretty sure it’s you.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“C-C’mon, dude—”

“I’m just telling the truth,” Adrien smiles, leaning in to peck the other on the cheek. “I could look at your face forever and never get tired of it.”

Nino giggles, face darkened in a blush and rubbing at his cheek. “Yeesh. Sap.”

“You love it,” the blond smirks, threading their hands together. He swings them between their bodies as he asks, “So, you wanna take a walk? Or you got something else in mind?”

They decide to get some ice cream, at Nino’s suggestion. They walk around the park, taking in the sunlight of the nice day as they hunt for someone selling the icy treat. After a bit of wandering, they come across a portly man in a striped shirt and blue apron with a cart, a few scattered couples around him enjoying ice cream.

The portly man smiles brightly at them, waving them over with a call of, “Come, come! You two look like you’d enjoy something from my cart! How about a Sweetheart Ice Cream?”

“Wait. Are you Andre the Ice Cream Man?” Nino asks the vendor curiously when the duo step forwards.

“Ah! I see my reputation precedes me,” the man smiles at them kindly, smile lines and crows feet emerging on his face. His ink-black hair was streaked grey at the temples under his cap. “Yes, I am Andre, young man.”

“I’ve heard ‘bout you from my friends Mylene and Ivan. You’re, like, crazy hard to find!” Nino tells the man, an awed look on his face.

“Then it must be our lucky day, huh?” Adrien asks, tugging Nino’s hand a bit to get his attention and giving him a wink.

Nino smiles back at him. “They say Andre’s ice cream shows your true love! And the couples that eat it stay together forever! Dunno how, exactly. I guess it’s gotta do with flavors and toppings…?”

“Well, that would be telling!” Andre tsks playfully, still smiling.

“Right, right, sorry,” Nino nods with a laugh. “Magicians don’t tell their magic tricks, and ice cream vendors don’t give away all the tricks to the ice cream trade, either. Specially if it’s gotta do with magic ice cream.”

“Magic ice cream? Sounds like a magical thing to eat during a date,” Adrien says with a wide grin, turning to address the man. “Can we get one of your ice creams to split, then?”

“Of course, of course! It’s always a pleasure to give Sweetheart Ice Cream to new couples,” the vendor coos, looking absolutely delighted as he gets out a scooper and moves aside the openings of different ice cream containers. “Let’s see, passionfruit for passionate souls and pink lips, and caramel for soft and sweet eyes. Now, are these choices a bit of a surprise…?”

The man hands Nino the sundae, while the duo gape back at him.

“Wow! Passionfruit’s one of my favorite flavors, but it’s super rare to find,” Adrien blinks, his eyes wide.

“And caramel’s definitely one of my faves too!” Nino nods with a smile, most definitely impressed. He turns to Adrien and tugs his hand a little as he stage-whispers, “ _Totally_ magic ice cream.”

“Yeah, no, that was like. Tarot card reading type of prediction,” the blond agrees, awed.

“So cool…!” the two breath before breaking out into laughter.

“I hope you enjoy, boys!” Andre gives a deep chuckle, gently shooing them away.

“Thank you, Mister Andre,” the blond nods at the man, quickly handing him a bill.

“Yeah, thanks dude,” Nino nods as well, leading Adrien away from the cart with the ice cream in hand while Andre goggles at the bill the model had given him as payment.

“Wait! This is much too much—” the portly man sputters out to them.

“Think of it as a tip…!” Adrien calls back over his shoulder with a crooked smile. He tugs on Nino’s hand, and with matching amused grins, the two speed-walk away from the shocked vendor.

“Hah! I think you just paid for a good ten of his ice creams with that,” Nino sighs fondly after they’ve long left the ice cream man behind, gently knocking their shoulders together. “Maybe even twenty!”

Adrien just shrugs back, giving a cheeky look back at his boyfriend. “He literally gave us _magical ice cream_. He provided a pretty great service, and I was willing to pay for it.”

“You got me there,” the bespectacled boy laughs.

“So…couples that eat his ice cream stay together forever, huh?” Adrien asks as the two settle down under a tree to enjoy their treat.

“That’s what they say, yeah,” Nino grins back at him, something soft and warm. “I’m gonna hope it’s true.”

Adrien finds himself smiling softly back, feeling warm and fond. “Yeah. Me too.”

They share the ice cream sundae between them, the passionfruit and caramel an interesting mix, sweet and smooth on the tongue.

* * *

After finishing their ice cream and walking around a bit more, it gets late enough that Adrien needs to leave. Though he’s grateful he could spend this time with his boyfriend without something like an Akuma attack getting in the way, like last time.

“I still need to finish up homework,” Adrien admits with a little laugh, after he’s called for Gorilla to pick him up. “Crimefighting gets in the way of lessons all the time, lemme tell you.”

“Makes sense,” Nino nods, rubbing his thumb over the blond’s knuckles. “At least you’ve got an excuse. I just procrastinate, then panic at the last second.”

“Schoolwork isn’t for everyone,” the blond allows with a smile and shrug.

His boyfriend gives an awkward laugh in turn. “Maybe you can help me with homework sometime…? When you’ve got the time, though.”

“Yeah, of course! A study date sounds good. I don’t want my boyfriend failing, after all,” Adrien teases with a wink.

“Wow, okay,” Nino laughs.

Adrien notices the same black SUV as before slows down to a stop close to them. The window rolls down, and Gorilla nods at the boys. “Oh, looks like I gotta go,” the model sighs, heart panging already from loss despite still having his hand connected to his boyfriend’s.

“Looks like,” Nino agrees with a sad little smile, before he brightens and gently taps Adrien under the chin. “Text me later when you get back?”

“Yeah,” the blond agrees. “And I’ll see you at school tomorrow, too.”

Adrien regretfully lets go of Nino’s hand. But he hesitates to get in his awaiting car. Nino also hovers, seemingly unwilling to part, just smiling gently down at Adrien, light glinting off his cropped curls and glasses.

Adrien bites his lip. Nino’s brown eyes dart down, as if magnetized, staying on his lips.

Filled with a sudden rush of courage, the blond leans up and tries to peck Nino on the lips. Their noses knock together in the attempt and Adrien squeaks, embarrassed.

“S-Sorry,” he stutters out. “I don’t—I haven’t really kissed anyone, so—”

“It’s fine,” Nino says with a breathless laugh, gently taking Adrien’s face in his hands. “Lemme try.”

Adrien finds his eyes fluttering to half-mast, gaze flickering between his boyfriend’s bright eyes and his lips, which he wets slightly with his tongue. Nino leans in carefully, tilts his head, and connects their lips together. Adrien’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest.

The taste of passionfruit and caramel still lingers there.

When they pull back, Adrien gasps. His eyes had fluttered closed at some point, but now they’re wide open as he stares into Nino’s chocolate eyes.

Nino’s entire face is darkened in a blush, ears to neck. Adrien’s face is probably also blushing with the same fervor. “Was that—uh, was that good?” Nino whispers nervously, licking his lips again.

“It was perfect,” the blond whispers back.

When he finally turns to scramble into the passenger’s seat of the car, Gorilla’s smiling widely at him. Adrien giggles and smiles back bashfully. “ _Cute_ ,” Gorilla mouths at him.

Adrien’s face is as warm as his heart, overwhelmingly so. He can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a chapter of pure fluffiness! Gotta let the boys enjoy their newfound relationship. They’ve earned it. Plus, we get another couple together as well! Good for them.
> 
> Andre literally gives away his ice cream. I’ve never seen anyone actually pay the man in the show. And hell, he outright says he gives Adrien and Marinette free ice cream on the house! Like, that’s not a proper business model!! Get this man some monetary compensation for his goods and services!!!
> 
> Also, art! I commissioned my friend Kapane to draw Nino's outfit for the park date!  
> Link to that is here: https://kapane-luyeshu.tumblr.com/post/641394908166569985/a-comission-for-mexicancat-girl#notes  
> (I'm still crying over the commission, my baby boy looks so perfect and I adore him so much. Please support Kapane, she is a gift.)


	10. Simon Says

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the entire extra chapter I accidentally wrote when I only wanted to add a small bit at the end of last chapter. Oops.

* * *

Tomorrow brings an excited Nino all but bowling him over when he sets foots inside Dupont. Adrien laughs and sputters as his boyfriend takes him by the shoulders and bounces on his toes like a hyper chipmunk, talking a mile a minute.

“Woah! Woah, what’s up? Where’s the fire?” the blond asks teasingly, with a wide smile, feeling excited just because his boyfriend is so damn excited this morning.

Nino all but vibrates in place, still clutching Adrien’s shoulders. He opens his mouth, and Adrien raises a finger.

“Alright, think about what you wanna tell me in, like, a sentence. Then you can tell me the rest after,” he offers, oh-so-fond as he watches his boyfriend tilt his head cutely and pout, looking like he was literally thinking through his answer. Heh, so adorable. He really _did_ have the cutest boyfriend, huh…?

Nino nods, the expression of contemplation sliding off his face as he beams back at Adrien. “I got invited to play music on a show for next week!”

“Really? That’s _amazing_!” Adrien gushes, clutching back at Nino’s shoulders and beaming back at him. “Gosh, congrats, Nino!”

“It’s _sick_ ,” the dark-skinned boy agrees with a vehement nod of his head that nearly dislodges his red cap from his head.

“Cool, tell me about it!” the model says, letting go of the other’s shoulders so they can start walking down the hallway to get to Homeroom.

Nino chatters to him all the while, all but skipping as they make their way to Bustier’s class. Adrien’s rarely seen his boyfriend so _energized_. It’s incredibly charming.

* * *

Adrien thinks the way his boyfriend fidgets while waiting off-stage in the TVi Studio is so charming, it hurts. He wishes they were alone so he could pull Nino down into a kiss, pour all his love into it, and Nino can pour all his nervous energy back.

He had to settle for leaving kisses all over Nino’s face while they rode in the SUV earlier. The model had made sure to pick up and drop off Nino for his very important—and first ever!— TV appearance, to give his boyfriend the maximum amount of support possible. Plus, it never hurt to have a bodyguard like Gorilla around as a backup either, in case there’s trouble.

“You’re gonna be great,” Adrien assures his boyfriend warmly for the dozenth time, rubbing at the other’s arms while Nino worries his bracelets around his wrists. “You’re already here, they’ve put you through a basic makeup check, and they’re gonna call you up on that stage so you can rock this challenge!”

“Right,” the cap-wearing boy sighs out, smiling back at him, something soft and fond. “You’re right. Thanks, Adrien.”

A frantic-looking dark-skinned woman with a clipboard rushes up to them and gestures at Nino. “You’re almost on. Please wait for your cue.”

“You’ll do amazing,” Adrien re-iterates in a whisper in the other boy’s ear. This close, he can see Nino’s faint blush through his stage makeup.

The host, Mister Alec, gets into place in front of the green screen with mounted TV. He turns around, smiling cockily at the main camera. “Welcome back to everyone's number one live game show: The Challenge! Let's give it up for our awesome contestant, Niiiinoooo!”  
  


Adrien gives his boyfriend one last clap on his shoulder and smile, the other smiling back with a bit of confidence, adjusting his hat and winking back at the blond.

_“_ So Nino, you're a student _and_ a DJ,” Alec starts, hands on Nino’s shoulders. Nino smiles and nods, waving at the camera like a total dork, and Adrien has to fight back giggles at the sight. “That's pretty awesome! Check out the decks we got for you!”

Behind Nino, a bulky stagehand in a Leatherman jacket rolls a turntable in the middle of the frame. Nino and Alec turn to survey it. The teen DJ quickly walks around to stand in front of the turntable properly, hands hovering as he surveys the setup with calculating and bright eyes.

Adrien’s familiar with that look in his boyfriend’s eyes. It’s the same look he has whenever he talks about how his specs are holding up, or about a new remix he’s working on. It’s the look of someone who’s passionate and knows what they’re doing.

The blond is glad to see that look on the other’s face. Nino’s nervousness from before seems to have been thrown straight out the window, now that the situation has turned into something a bit more familiar for him. He’s the local DJ in his neighborhood, after all. He’s used to playing in front of a crowd for parties and the like regularly.

“So, the challenge the viewers have chosen for you involves a certain celebrity...” Alec trails off with a wide grin, before gesturing at the mounted TV screen behind them both.

The very familiar visage of the fat man Adrien’s known for most of his life appears on the screen, perfect combover in place to hide his premature balding, a professionally neutral smile on his face. “Hello, Studio TVi and Mister Alec.”

“Hello, Mayor Bourgeois! The Challenge for today is to get the Mayor of Paris, André Bourgeois, to dance!” Alec tells the audience, before turning once more to address the screen with the guest. “Thank you for agreeing to play with us today, sir. What are Nino's chances tonight?”

  
Uncle André scoffs on screen. “Zero. I despise dancing. The last time I set foot on a dance floor, Madonna was in Kindergarten.”

But Nino isn’t deterred whatsoever. If anything, he seems _excited_ by the challenge. His mahogany eyes gleam behind his glasses and he smiles, wide and toothy and determined. He cracks his knuckles and shakes his hands out, having them poised over the turn decks.

“When we count down, that’s when your challenge starts, Nino! You ready?” Alec asks.

“I was _born_ ready, dude,” Nino assures, with full confidence. Damn, was confidence a good look on him. Adrien finds himself sighing and wishing he could kiss the other senseless. But that was probably his hormones talking.

Nino’s fingers fly over the switches and knobs, starting off with a sparse beat with a snare, before adding in some piano. Odd choice, but considering the Mayor is used to classical music, makes sense. He then adds some—reverb? Adrien thinks it’s called reverb—to double the sound of the piano, adds in some synths, then another, deeper beat on top of the snares.

After a bit, he cranks up the speed, using the turntables to give the song a ‘skipping’ effect. Then drops in some strings and—wow, okay, that’s starting to sound really cool. Like a remix of a Kingdom Hearts song, almost. Adrien sort of wishes he knew anything that wasn’t just piano, because _so_ much is going into this that seems awesome. He can barely keep up with Nino’s expert hands and the way he blends in so many elements together seamlessly.

In short, Nino’s creates a fucking _banger_. And right on the spot, too!

Uncle André obviously enjoys the eclectic, classical-inspired piece, too. He’s bobbing his head to the beat in no time, even snapping his fingers.

“Victory!” Alec hoots, as a soundbite plays, the screen turning into a symbol of a hand making a peace sign. “Challenge conquered by Nino!”

The host slings an arm over Nino’s shoulders right as the boy takes his headphones off, beaming brightly at the camera. Adrien’s face hurts from smiling so hard, proud of this boyfriend’s victory. Alec goes on with, “You moved your head to the beat, Mayor Bourgeois! That counts as dancing!”

  
“What?!” the Mayor sputters back, “That's not true! My neck was... itching, that's all.”

  
“Well, relieving an itch to the beat counts as dancing, too!” Alec says with a smirk, doing a dance move with his arms. He turns to Nino, putting his hands on the teen’s shoulders. “Nino, congratulations. You'll return in one week to meet your next challenge!”

Nino grins excitedly, turning and walking off the stage and right into Adrien’s awaiting arms.

“You did amazing!” Adrien exclaims, hugging his boyfriend tight. “Oh man—that was totally cool! It sounded almost something straight from Kingdom Hearts.”

“Yeah, well—I’ll tell ya a secret. It was totes inspired by you sharing the baller soundtracks with me earlier in the year,” the DJ laughs, hugging him back tight and rocking them to and fro. “So, you helped me win.”

“Oh, c’mon, that was all you!” Adrien retorts with warm cheeks, leaning back to playfully tap the other’s nose. “You did all the mixing! And on the fly, too! Just shows how talented you are.”

Nino flushes and laughs, looking pleased and embarrassed by the praise. Adrien would keep on showering his boyfriend with the praise he deserves—and maybe tease him a little bit, too—except he hears a coldly familiar voice.

Adrien lets go of Nino instantly and whirls to stare at his Father’s disapproving face on the mounted TV screen. The blond finds himself blanching.

“They got _Father_ to be on this show?!” he hisses incredulously, stomaching sinking. Oh no. He has a bad feeling about this…

* * *

Adrien’s bad feeling was correct. Right after his Father appeared on screen, he dismissed the show and the contestant—Simon the magician—in the rudest way possible, calling them both pathetic. Then logged off completely, the screen going black.

The magician in the patterned pink jacket looks absolutely crushed. Even more so when, with forced cheer and trying not to sweat nervously, Alec cheerily tells him that since Gabriel Agreste turned down to participate, that means he lost the challenge.

Adrien finds himself gripping Nino’s hand in his with a full-body wince, breath hissing through his teeth in sympathy at the magician, who was quickly ushered off the stage and to a back room by a stagehand. “Why did they ask _Father_ of all people to be on this show?” he spits out.

“Yeah. Totally harsh,” Nino agrees with a frown, rubbing his thumb over Adrien’s hand. “Your old man wouldn’t know fun if it kicked him in the face. No offense.”

“None taken. You’re right,” Adrien states bluntly, frowning at the doors where the magician disappeared to.

Nino tugs on his hand, and Adrien looks over at his boyfriend. The two meet eyes, and an understanding seems to fall over them both.

This won’t be without its consequences. His Father’s callousness will probably result in an Akuma.

An Akuma promptly kicks down the door about thirty seconds later, when Adrien is trying to convince Gorilla to leave through another exit. Well. That’s great timing, as always.

Adrien internally curses Hawkmoth. Gorilla’s eyes blow wide, and he quickly shields both Adrien and Nino with his bulky body. Nino fumbles with the doorhandle, getting it open, the two boys slipping inside.

“Simon Says, you act like a Gorilla!”

Gorilla gets hit by the Akuma’s powers. Adrien can tell, because his bodyguard’s stance goes stiff, eyes glazed over.

The blond quickly slams the door in the man’s face, hearing Gorilla howling like an ape. He grabs Nino’s hand, and bolts down the hallway. His boyfriend doesn’t need to be told twice, hand clasped tight in his, running by his side.

“Go and hide,” he pants out, stopping in front of another door and opening it. Looks like a storage room. “Don’t let the Akuma get you.”

Before he can do anything else, Nino grabs his face, smashing lips against his in a furious kiss. Adrien’s a bit dazed when his boyfriend pulls back after a few seconds and gasps, “Be careful.”

“I’ll…I’ll try,” the model squeaks, before clearing his throat, face warm like he’s been under stage lights for too long. “U-Uh, yeah. Stay safe. Plagg, Claws Out!”

* * *

Chat Noir perches on the ceiling lights, watching the Akuma below him. From what he can tell, his cards are what gives him his powers. They’re probably also the Akumatized object.

If he can get his entire hand on the deck, he should be able to Cataclysm them all in one swoop. Hopefully he’s correct. If not, that at least stops the other from doing any mind-controlling business, and he can tell Ladybug to try something else out.

Chat Noir waits, crouched and ready to strike. He hears as the villain monologues—really? A villainous monologue?—about having his revenge on Gabriel Agreste.

Well, despite his Father being a complete bastard and literally bringing this onto himself…He’s still his Father. So Chat Noir’s obligated to save his dumb ass.

The leather-clad hero readies himself, and then drops on top of the Akuma, knocking him to the ground. He keeps the other’s wrists pinned down, readying his Cataclysm—but the Akuma uses a card trick to scatter them all on the floor.

Chat Noir rolls off the other, trying to gather the cards with his non-glowing hand with a hiss. The Akuma’s a magician, of _course_ he has card tricks, he’s so _stupid_ —

“Simon Says capture Chat Noir!”

Well, fuck.

The hero ducks under Gorilla’s massive swing, running right up to the Akuma. The man’s eyes widen and he steps back, sputtering as Chat Noir leaps up and destroys his stupid magician’s hat.

“Well, that’s one option down,” he says with a toothy smile, backflipping away from Simon Says, dodging sloppily-thrown cards along the way. Yup, one of the cards is _definitely_ the object, with the amount of importance they have.

Chat Noir turns tail and runs to find Nino and recharge. He hopes the other is okay…

* * *

“No luck?” Nino asks, when Chat Noir slips into the room, having followed the tracker he’d put on his boyfriend earlier.

Adrien sighs as he de-transforms, hiding behind the boxes of junk in the storage room with his boyfriend. Plagg huffs loudly and falls onto Adrien’s lap, taking the slice of Camembert from him with no complaints.

“Afraid not. We’re gonna have to wait for Ladybug for help,” the blond shakes his head. “But I figured the Akuma’s object is one of his playing cards. He uses his powers through his deck of cards to make anyone do what he says. It’s the only thing that makes sense… Oh, and the Akuma’s after Father.”

“Well, that both makes sense,” the darker-skinned boy allows with a nod.

They hear the Akuma’s high tones, and what can only be a stampede of people, out in the hallway. The duo instantly go quiet and duck further down behind cover.

When it sounds like they’re gone, after a few tense seconds, the two let out a sigh of relief. Nino’s is decidedly more shaky than Adrien’s, less used to the dangers of Akuma than the superhero.

“Alright, when the coast is clear, I’ll go out and start searching,” the blond says, leaning in to kiss the other on the cheek to soothe him. “It’s gonna be okay. Plagg, you done with your cheese?”

“Yup! It was a nice snack break,” the Kwami says lightly, exaggeratedly licking his chops. “I’m ready to go.”

“Cool. Plagg, Claws Out.”

The leather-clad hero barely gets out of his crouch, when he feels his wrist being taken. Nino scrambles to his feet alongside the hero, face full of determination as he states, “I’m going with you.”

“It’s dangerous—”

“Yeah, well, the Akuma’s gonna go to your house and after your old man. You really think I’d be selfish and _not_ go to my boyfriend’s house if there’s an Akuma there?” the cap-wearing boy asks pointedly with narrowed eyes.

“But—but you’ll be in danger,” Chat Noir says weakly, feeling off-kilter and like the rug’s been yanked from under his feet.

“And when you’re done saving the day, you’re still gonna need me by your side,” Nino states, a stubborn glint in his mahogany eyes. “You’re _not_ leaving me behind.”

“Nino…” the blond whispers back, feeling an odd cocktail of emotions welling up inside him.

“Nino? Is that you?” a familiar voice calls. The duo snap their attention over to the door, which opens to reveal frantic-looking Ladybug. “Oh! And chaton!”

“The Akuma’s after Gabriel Agreste, and I’m comin’ with,” the cap-wearing boy says straight-up to the heroine without preamble.

Chat Noir finds himself sputtering. “Wait, what?! _No_! It’s dangerous…!”

“Alright, but we’ve gotta move quickly,” Ladybug nods, opening the door wider.

“ _Ladybug_!” Chat Noir snaps, scandalized and shocked at how easily the other hero agrees.

“I’m _not_ just gonna let an Akuma hurt _my boyfriend’s dad_ ,” Nino says exasperatedly, finally letting the other’s wrist go to cross his arms, attempting for stern. “…Even _if_ the guy’s a total asshole.”

“Great, let’s get moving,” the heroine jerks her thumb out the door.

“We’re dragging a civilian into this!” Chat Noir points out, even as he dutifully follows Nino out the door.

“Civilians get dragged into Akuma business all the time,” his partner reminds him in deadpan, while his romantic partner smiles rather smugly behind her.

“ _Fine_!” the Cat hero exclaims, throwing his hands up in pure exasperation. “I can’t win with either of you…!”

* * *

Adrien had never considered the Agreste Manor would be the site of a _second_ Akuma attack. But here they were. In the Agreste Manor, because of a second Akuma attack.

Ladybug frowns over at Nino in sympathy. “I think your boyfriend got wrapped up in the Akuma’s spell. You said Adrien and his bodyguard were with you in the studio when the Akuma appeared, right…?”

“Yeah. I think he ran out to find help, and maybe got caught,” Nino says awkwardly, fiddling with his headphones, avoiding the heroine’s searching glance. “Um…You—d’you think he’ll be okay?”

“Once we stop the Akuma, everyone will go back to normal,” Ladybug smiles soothingly, placing a hand on Nino’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go. Hopefully, Mister Agreste won’t give us any trouble.”

His Father, surprisingly enough, doesn’t give them any trouble. He’s sure the process would be much more drawn out if it had been him as a civilian attempting to convince the man to take precautions and be careful. As it stands, the two superheroes are more than enough to convince him to raise the manor’s security.

“I have nothing to worry about with both of Paris’ heroes here to serve as protection, however, I must also take into account the safety of my son and staff,” he nods at them, brows pulled down as he frowns, turning his steely gaze towards Nino. The teen stands taller at the man’s attention. “Alongside my son’s…friend.”

“Now, for Mister Lahiffe…” the fashion tycoon trails off, grey eyes going from acutely surveying Nino towards his secretary. “Nathalie, place him in Adrien’s room to wait. I’m sure it will be a… pleasant surprise when he’s broken from the Akuma’s spell and finds his friend in his room.”

“Uh, thanks, sir,” Nino says stiffly, looking nervously over at Chat Noir. The leather-clad hero gives his boyfriend a smile and nod, hoping that it’s enough to comfort the other. Nino smiles and nods back, lingering a beat, before turning and following Nathalie.

“Now, the manor has a state-of-the-art security system,” the man says, turning to look down at the teenaged heroes. “It’s all but impossible to penetrate. What else can I offer for you, Ladybug and Chat Noir, to aid you in your quest to stop this Akuma?”

The two heroes look at one another, having an entire conversation in a glance. It’s Ladybug who asks, “Do you know if there’s any places we could jump down from, to create an ambush?”

* * *

The easiest place for an ambush is the entry foyer. Chat Noir already knows this, as he’s lived in this godforsaken building his entire life. However, he can’t exactly say this, or else it’d be suspicious as hell. Thankfully enough, the entry foyer is the same place Father proposes as well, after some thought. So that’s where they go to set up their ambush.

The two heroes perch on opposite sides of the foyer, hanging from ceiling fixtures, waiting. Waiting for the Akuma to find a way to break through the front doors, as he inevitably will, to hunt down Gabriel Agreste.

They’ll have one clean shot. Get the entire deck away from the man, Cataclysm it, and hope they’re correct.

It all goes according to plan, oddly enough. Simon Says and his crowd of mind-controlled goons burst through the front doors, after a mind-controlled Gorilla unlocks it. The crowd flows into the foyer, the heroes going unnoticed from their aerial positions. The Akuma strides forwards with all his tacky glory, neon green and purple and looking utterly ridiculous, as Hawkmoth’s designs are wont to do.

“Simon Says spread out and search for Gabriel Agreste, and bring him to me!” the Akuma declares, throwing cards around him at his goons. The civilians start to disperse, Simon Says languidly striding towards the grand staircase.

Chat Noir grins toothily as the Akuma steps closer and closer into position…closer…almost there…

There.

The dynamic duo drop from the skies like birds of prey. Easily enough, they have their opponent pinned. With the help of Ladybug’s Lucky Charm—sticky paper—Chat Noir grips the Akuma’s entire card deck in his hand, giving a victorious hiss of “Cataclysm!”. The deck turns to ash, and Simon Says is engulfed in purple energy, before it fades to show the handsome young magician in his striking pink jacket once more.

Ladybug scrambles off the man, taking the rest of the sticky paper she summoned and throwing it up with a call of, “Miraculous Ladybug!” A swarm of ladybugs sweep across some of the mind-controlled civilians that were stragglers and hadn’t wandered far, turning them back to normal. The swarm splits up, darting to different parts of the manor, some leaving through the front entrance to fix the broken doors of the gate, and the damage wrought from the manor to the TVi Studio.

“ _Where_ is my son? He’s not in this crowd,” Father’s cold voice asks, so sudden and sharp, it feels like a knife plunged between Chat Noir’s ribs.

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. The victims were told to spread out and find you,” the leather-clad hero finds himself saying quickly, a bit nervous. “Here, we’ll both find him in the time we have left.”

He gives his partner his usual fist bump before he darts off to the nearest doorway, rounding the corner and sliding into a hidey-hole, quickly de-transforming once he’s out of sight.

Adrien sighs out shakily, letting Plagg hide back in his shirt, before he’s calling out, “Nino…? Gorilla…?”

He doesn’t have to wait long. About two seconds after he calls out, what sounds like a localized earthquake is coming to find him, rumbling and getting closer. Gorilla skids into the room, in perfect time, running up to Adrien. “Hey, Gorilla, I’m—oh.”

The blond feels the wind being knocked out of him, as his bodyguard brings him into a crushing hug, lifting him straight off his toes. Adrien smiles and blinks back the sudden burning in his eyes, giving a little laugh and burying his face against his bodyguard’s collar, warm and familiar.

“Adrien, you’re alright!” Ladybug chirps, skidding into the room and beaming wide at him. The blond is carefully set down on the ground, blinking back at the surprising amount of relief in the other’s warm tone. “That’s great!”

“Thank you, Ladybug. And thank Chat Noir, as well, when you see him,” Father says in clipped tones, walking right past the heroine without a glance, his steel grey eyes only on Adrien. Gorilla steps back, and Adrien is completely baffled when his usually taciturn Father bends down and brings him into a hug.

“O-Oh. Um,” Adrien stutters out awkwardly. He watches Ladybug leave with a happy smile and a little wave at him. He waves back weakly, before lightly placing his hand on his dad’s arm. “Father…”

Father pulls back, blinking down at the hand on his arm. “I’ve never noticed your ring before…”

Adrien can’t help it. He stares back at the man with narrowed eyes, feeling annoyance wash away the tentative warmth from his Father showing an ounce of concern, of vulnerability. He bares his teeth a bit as crosses his arms and drawls back, “ _Really_? My _ring_? Is _that_ the only thing you've never noticed about me…?”

His Father looks a bit awkward, even _guilty_ , averting his gaze as he straightens his posture. “I'm glad everything worked out for the best…” he trails off, before turning on his heel and walking right out of the room. Not even hesitating or looking back once.

Adrien sighs, mood soured considerably. He feels a weight settle on his shoulder, a broad and warm palm, and looks up at Gorilla. His bodyguard’s usually stern features are soft with sympathy, and he smiles weakly back at the other, before averting his burning eyes.

“Why am I even surprised…” he whispers out, voice thick with disappointment.

Gorilla grunts, rubbing his shoulder, before light tapping him under the chin. Adrien slowly raises his head, blinking as the man carefully puts one of his ginormous hands on Adrien’s head…and starts to ruffle his hair. Adrien finds himself smiling, leaning into the touch, his heart warm.

The man somehow feels more like a father than Adrien’s own. Adrien’s known Gorilla since he was a toddler, too young to say his name right and calling him the animal instead, until the title stuck. Hell, he sees Gorilla every day, for extended periods of time. Sees him much more than Father ever does, ever bothers to try.

Adrien hears the familiar sound of sharp clacking of heels on tile, before he hears Nathalie speak. “Adrien, good, we’ve found you,” the woman says, her usually clipped tones lighter and softer than normal. The model turns, smiling wide at the sight of his boyfriend standing next to the secretary.

Said boyfriend doesn’t hesitate to rush forwards and bring him into a hug. “Adrien! I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah. Same with you, Nino,” the model says with an aching amount of fondness, allowing himself to stay in his boyfriend’s familiar and comforting arms, soaking in his warmth…before remembering that Nathalie was still standing there. Adrien lets go, wrenching himself from Nino, face aflame. But instead of staring at them disapprovingly, the secretary is smiling down at her clipboard and biting her lip.

“Your Father has allowed your…friend…to stay with you for the rest of the evening, after the scare with the Akuma,” the woman informs them both, voice thick with a knowing tone. Adrien rubs the back of his head, smiling back at Nino’s apologetic cringe and blushing face. “He’s to leave by dinnertime. However, I’ll make sure to clear your schedule for the same time next week, so you can accompany him to the TVi Studio, and then spend the evening with him.”

Adrien brightens up considerably, exchanging an awed look with his boyfriend. “Wait, really?!”

“Of course. It doesn’t conflict with any of your usual lessons or activities.”

“You’re the best, Nathalie!” he all but squeals, rushing forwards to bring her into a quick hug. The woman stands, stock still and shocked. When he pulls back, her blue eyes are wide behind her square glasses.

“Enjoy your time,” is all she says after a long moment of collecting herself, her expression much softer compared to her usual professional mask.

“Thanks again,” he tells her genuinely, turning to look at his boyfriend. “C’mon, Nino!”

“Thanks a bunch, Miss Nathalie!” Nino adds, quickly running up and grabbing Adrien’s hand, allowing the blond to drag him towards his bedroom.

* * *

Nino gives a disbelieving, joyful laugh as he steps foot into Adrien’s room. “Dude! I’ve seen stadiums tinier than your room…!” he hoots, spinning in a circle to take in everything, chocolate eyes bright behind his glasses.

Adrien bites his lip, self-conscious. “Oh, uh. Make yourself at home…”

“Don’t mind if I do, Adricakes,” the cap-wearing boy grins back at him.

The model finds himself snorting. “Adricakes?”

“I’ve been try’na think of a nickname for you,” his boyfriend shrugs, walking forwards with a smirk and booping him on the nose. “Adricakes, ‘cuz you’re super sweet like cake.”

Adrien gapes, face going warm. “Wait—what? Th-that doesn’t make sense…!”

“I mean,” Nino starts innocently, mahogany eyes shining behind his glasses, “I coulda meant it about the other type of cake—”

“Shut up!” the blond sputters out, squealing when Nino lunges and wraps him in his arms. “N-Nino!”

“Aw, what’s wrong, Adricakes—”

“Shut _up_ , that name’s so _dumb_ —"

“Can’t handle it when people point out you’ve got a nice butt?”

“ _Nino_ ,” he whines, face aflame as his boyfriend peppers his face in kisses. “Nino, oh my God, you’re so _embarrassing_.”

“Seriously, that one pair of jeans you wear that’s extra tight on you does _wonders_ and makes your butt look extra cute.”

“Is _that_ why everyone stares when I wear it?!” he shrieks.

“Oh, _totally_. You shouldn’t wear them anymore, it’s bad for my health,” Nino smirks down at him, finally stopping his quest to kiss every inch of Adrien’s face. “And almost all girls in a three mile radius start drooling.”

“It’s so _embarrassing_ ,” Adrien admits long-sufferingly. “I don’t want people staring at my butt!”

“Just stick to baggier pants, and you’ll be Gucci,” the other shrugs, passing a hand slowly down Adrien’s back in a casual, soothing motion. Despite the layers of clothing between his back and Nino’s hand, his skin feels electric. “’nyways, if Adricakes can’t work ‘cuz you can’t handle a compliment—”

“People tell me they like my butt and stuff all the time. I’m a _model_ , and it’s always _weird_ ,” he sighs. “Like, it’s supposed to be compliments, but it just…they make me feel so _gross_ , and I…” he trails off, unable to find the words and going quiet.

Nino pulls back, still keeping his arms looped loosely around Adrien’s waist. His gaze is intent as he asks, voice low and quiet, “Does it bother you, then? I’ll stop if it does, y’know…”

“It’s…People are always weird about my body and looks,” Adrien admits in a whisper, leaning forwards to bury his face in Nino’s shoulder. “They put me on such a _pedestal_ …It’s like that’s the only thing that matters to anyone…I’m this gorgeous Adonis, a statue without any sort of flaw, just some plain husk…”

And he always has to be polite on top of that. A perfect representation of the Agreste family, of the Gabriel Brand. He’s perfectly wholesome and digestible, has the personality of a stuffed teddy bear or a wet paper bag, to the public at large. He can’t show weakness, can’t show discomfort, can’t show… _anything_ , really. Anything of his true self.

“Hey…” Nino coos, rubbing Adrien’s back. “Hey, I’m sorry, sweetheart—”

“ _Sweetheart_?” Adrien snorts, finding himself smiling against the other’s neck.

“Well, I gotta find something that fits you,” Nino goes on languidly, calmly. “Dunno if I like saying it much, though. Hm, maybe sweetie?”

“You sound like my aunt and grandma rolled into one.”

“Alright, no-go on that. Honey?”

“So now, what? Are we married?” he teases back.

Nino laughs, long and loud and warm. The sound is music to Adrien’s ears. He likes how it sounds, how it rumbles and vibrates through both their chests, the way it fills him up with joy like the bubbles of an uncorked champagne bottle.

“I personally feel like honey fits you more, anyways,” Adrien hums, nuzzling the other’s neck with a smile.

Nino sputters out a laugh. “What? No way!”

“Way. You’re sweet like honey. And your eyes and skin sort of get that honey-ish glow when the sun hits them _just_ right. Makes you extra handsome.”

Nino groans, burying his warm face against Adrien’s neck. “Ugh. You’re too sweet with your compliments, dude,” he whines pitifully.

“ _You’re_ the one trying to compliment me and give me cute pet names in the first place,” Adrien points out teasingly with a smirk.

“Yeah, and it majorly backfired. I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

“I’m full of surprises,” Adrien snickers, before thinking on it. “Hey, no rush on figuring any of this out. We’ll figure it out in our own time, I think.”

“…You’re right,” Nino agrees, nodding against his neck. “Cool. We’ll get to it when we get to it.”

“Yeah,” Adrien agrees, pulling back with great reluctance. Nino smiles down at him softly, and his dumb heart still does a set of cartwheels at the sight. “S-So, uh…I’ve got a few things we could do.”

“A few?” Nino asks, with a crooked grin. “Yeah, I can see that. Let’s sit down and do somethin’ with the TV. I think we’ve been running around enough for today.”

“Good plan,” the blond nods with a widening smile. “I’ve got physical movies and boxsets, Netflix, and video games. Take your pick.”

“Smash Bros or bust, baby,” Nino says jokingly with an exaggerated wink, slinging an arm around Adrien’s shoulders and leading them to the home media setup in front of the couch. “You’ll probs cream me, but at least I’ll have fun with it, and it ain’t Mecha Strike.”

“Why Nino, why would you be worried about us playing Mecha Strike?” Adrien asks with faux innocence, making his eyes go wide as he bats his lashes at his boyfriend after he turns on the console.

“Hmmmm, well, I think a little something called the Mecha Strike Tournament’s a part of that. One of the top players of all of Paris? I wouldn’t stand a minute playing against you.”

“Oh, _honey_ ,” Adrien says with a smirk, settling in the couch next to the other with his usual controller, “you wouldn’t last _ten seconds_.”

“Not going easy on your boyfriend? Woooow. Stone cold,” Nino snorts, grabbing the second controller Adrien hands him with grace. “See, this is why I chose Smash. At least I can spam and button mash, and I _might_ have a chance at winning.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” Adrien winks, knocking their shoulders together. “Now, pick your main. I’ve got everything unlocked and all the DLC. Go hogwild.”

* * *

It was a fun few hours, while it lasted. Sitting close and bantering while they played Smash, drinking soda, and eating snacks made by Mr. Baxter the head chef. Then after some rounds of gaming, curling up and cuddling on the couch to watch a new anime on Netflix that had a black lead and looked promising. It was about music, and Nino seemed to really dig it. Adrien was enjoying it as well, with the nice music and beautiful animation—God bless KyoAni for their constant quality. It wasn’t a typical shounen or magical girl anime that Adrien liked to watch, admittedly, but Carole and Tuesday was still a nice show.

It’s with a heavy heart that Adrien escorts his boyfriend out of his room and down the stairs.

Nathalie and Gorilla wait for them by the entrance. Nathalie’s usually stern blue gaze is soft with sympathy, though her face is still her professional mask. Gorilla nods at Nino and Adrien, his frown looking distinctly apologetic.

“Mister Lahiffe will be driven home, and in the meantime, you will eat dinner,” the secretary informs Adrien quietly. The gentle carefulness of her voice makes it hurt worse than if she’d use her usual stern tones. The model nods back, turning to his boyfriend.

“It was really fun, spending today with you,” Adrien tells Nino, forcing his voice to come out even instead of wavering.

“Yeah. It was great,” Nino nods with a small smile, not hesitating to bring the blond in for a hug. Adrien finds himself melting, clinging back fiercely to his love. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ve still got next time. And I’ll see you at school, right?”

“Right,” Adrien sighs against the other’s neck, finding a smile worming itself on his face. After about five seconds—which he counts in his head—he lets go. “See you at school.”

He wishes there weren’t cameras in the entrance. The only place he knows for sure weren’t any cameras or surveillance bugs at all was his room, since he’d doubled checked. But it’s too risky to do anything else in any other part of the manor.

That means no goodbye kiss, no matter how much Adrien wants to give Nino one.

Nino just taps him on the nose with a wink. “See ya, _rouhi_.”

Adrien is left more confused than anything. Though being confused is admittedly better than being sad his boyfriend is leaving. Hm. He’ll ask Nino what that was about, later…Maybe it’s his new nickname?

Either way, Adrien shakes his head with a smile, watching Gorilla escort Nino down the path towards the car garage. When they’re out of sight, he closes the door and turns to Nathalie. “Alright. I guess it’s time for dinner?”

The secretary nods back at him with the faintest of smiles. “That’s right.”

Adrien follows the woman to follow his usual routine, a bit of a pep in his step. Sure, he’s back to his boring old life, but even with the limited time he spent with Nino, he felt alive and rejuvenated.

He can’t wait for school, so he can see Nino and show him however much affection he wants, in Bustier’s class. Well, within reason, that is. PDA rules still existed, and all that. But not a day was ever dull or boring during classes, that’s for sure.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Simon Says is here! Someone pointed it out to me, and the episode completely slipped my mind at first of being a good one for adrinino. 
> 
> The thing is that I set this post reveal, so no identity shenanigans here! Just boyfriends being loyal and supporting each other. Add in the boys being cute, Gabriel being a shitty father, found family, and you have yourself a good mix of a little bit of everything!
> 
> The song I based Nino’s DJing off is Face My Fears by Utada Hikaru & Skrillex from Kingdom Hearts 3. It’s a fucking bop and I’ve listened to the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack a lot while writing this fic. Never played a single game, but their music is an entire vibe.
> 
> Nino calls Adrien ‘rouhi’, part of ‘ya rouhi’. It’s Arabic for “my soulmate”, a term of affection for a romantic partner or spouse.


	11. Suspicions and Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some of you be curious on when a certain character would appear... Well...

* * *

Another day of getting ready for school brings Adrien to making his way down the stairs, shouldering his Gym bag with his fencing uniform. He hears Father’s voice, and curious, he decides to get a closer look.

His Father’s office door is ajar. The man’s angrily speaking into his phone—something about a botched design. Looking through the ajar door, Adrien watches as his Father picks up a thick tome, walking towards the wall-length painting of Mother.

And then the painting swings open like a door itself, a safe hidden behind it.

The blond feels his eyes widen to saucers, stilled in place out of pure shock. It’s only when Father closes the safe and painting and makes to walk out of his office does Adrien move. His honed reflexes allow him to dive behind a nearby marble pillar and hide perfectly still.

He waits for his Father to stalk by his hiding place, heart thrumming quick in his chest. Father mutters angrily all the while as he stomps out of his office, dress shoes loud against the polished floor. “Completely incompetent buffoons…! Must I do everything myself…?”

Adrien waits a few seconds longer. “He hides stuff behind Mother’s painting…?” Adrien murmurs, carefully looking around the pillar to double-check the man was gone and wouldn’t be rushing back anytime soon.

“Ooh, I love dirty secrets!” Plagg snickers excitedly, emerging from Adrien’s bag. “Let’s go snoop on your old man, hmmm?”

Normally, Adrien would be against it. But Father’s paranoia makes him simultaneously curious and concerned. So he quickly sneaks into his Father’s office, heading straight for the painting. He slides it open, and stares at the safe embedded in the wall.

“I don’t know the combination…” he mutters, shoulders slumping.

“Oh, I can help with that,” Plagg says with a toothy grin, bobbing in front of Adrien’s face. “Let’s have a looksee, huh?”

The little Kwami phases through the safe—right, they can do that, Adrien almost forgot. After a long moment of him holding his breath, the safe clicks open.

“Kid! Kid, look!” Plagg hisses, waving a little paw furiously. He’s floating next to…a pin shaped like a peacock? “This is a Miraculous…!” the Kwami crows, jabbing a paw straight at the pin. “It’s one of the missing ones! Grab it!”

He doesn’t understand exactly, but the urgency is there, thick in Plagg’s voice. So Adrien quickly takes the pin in his hand, seeing a light shine from it, before exhaustion hits him like a sucker-punch.

He gasps, blinking his eyes blearily at the sight of a navy blue Kwami with beady magenta eyes.

“Wrap it up and put it in your bag! You’ll exhaust yourself by having two Miraculous at once!” Plagg says urgently.

Adrien feels the room spinning as he shakes his head, all but collapsing on his knees so he can rush to do what Plagg says.

“Sorry, Duusu. We’ll get you outta here and to Master Fu soon,” Plagg babbles to the other Kwami, before Adrien finally manages to wrap up the pin in his fencing uniform and shove it in his bag, murmuring “I renounce you”, officially breaking the connection.

When he looks back up, the navy Kwami is gone. The headache that was thrumming behind his temples is still there, but lessened significantly to a dull ache.

“Grab this book while you’re at it,” Plagg instructs, attempting to drag a thick tome out of the safe. Adrien quickly gets on his feet and takes it from the Kwami before it can fall and make a clatter. “I’ve seen it before. I think it’s gotta do with the Miraculous, too.”

“Alright,” he nods, vision swimming for just a moment. He lowers himself and places the tome in his bag, zipping it closed. And he just kneels there, panting, attempting to catch his breath.

A…A lot happened in the past two minutes. Adrien was still trying to process it all. Finding a Miraculous inside his Father’s safe, the exhaustion of wielding two at once—hell, he hadn’t even known two could be wielded at once! And now the book to add to it too…?

Why the hell would his Father have two important magical artifacts in his possession…? That’s. That’s crazy suspicious.

Adrien swallows, his throat suddenly as dry as a desert. He’s putting a few pieces together, and he’s _not_ liking the picture it’s creating. Not at all—

“Adrien?” Nathalie calls. The blond jolts, getting out of his kneel as Nathalie strides through the door. “You’ll be late.”

“S-Sorry, just double-checking I had my homework,” the blond says quickly, trying not to sweat more than he already is. He shoulders his bag—which is _much_ heavier now with the book—and tries to appear innocent.

The secretary frowns at him, adjusting her glasses. “You’re looking pale, Adrien. Are you alright? Are you getting sick? I can call a doctor immediately—”

“No, no! I’m fine!” Adrien says quickly, trying not to panic. He waves his hands in front of himself. “It’s really nothing, Nathalie. I just…”

“Just…?” the woman questions. Behind her, Gorilla slowly and carefully steps into the office as well, frowning in concern.

Adrien glances up at Mother’s painting. Well. He could play the ‘sad kid’ card, maybe?

“Just…missing Mother, I guess,” he says, voice coming out quiet as the sincerity of the statement hits him. He blinks the burn of tears from eyes and shakes his head. “Never mind. It’s fine. I’ll be late if I don’t get going, right?” He tries to give a smile. It feels clunky and fake in his mouth.

Nathalie’s eyes have softened significantly behind her glasses as she looks at him. “Very well. Let’s go.”

When Adrien steps to follow the woman, he feels a big and warm hand gently land on his shoulder. He looks up at Gorilla, who nods at him, escorting him out of Father’s office like a protective force of nature.

* * *

Adrien feels his boyfriend tighten his hand around his protectively when Miss Bustier introduces a new student to their class that morning.

The girl seems nice enough, if not for the fact that she pretty much instantly sends full-blown moon-eyes Adrien’s way. Adrien internally dreads having a fangirl transfer into his class, though he’s not going to make judgements…yet. But he’s a little wary of this Lila Rossi girl.

Lila tells a little bit about herself in her introduction. She’s from Italy, her mother is an Italian diplomat, and she’s traveled to many places in the world because of her mother’s work. Her smile is sugary sweet as she clasps her hands together and chirps, “I hope to get to know you all!”

“Now, you’re welcome to one of the free seats, Lila. Please, make yourself at home,” Miss Bustier tells her kindly. Lila beams back at her and nods, walking up the steps and waving hello to everyone in the room, before seemingly deciding to take her chances with being Nathaniel’s seat mate. The shy artist looks supremely awkward and shrinks in on himself when she settles down next to him, but he gives her a small smile in greeting.

Adrien tries to put his worries about the new girl on hold, because he’s got a lot of other problems on his plate. Mainly the second Miraculous in his possession, the super thick and old-looking book that’s undoubtably important, and the fact that his Father kept both items locked in a safe behind Mother’s painting like a paranoid supervillain.

He can barely focus on lessons, writing notes automatically while barely understanding any of the material spoken. He can’t wait until lunch time, when he can pull Nino aside and show him what he’s found. Maybe his boyfriend can help him brainstorm what the hell he should do with these magical artifacts…

* * *

The lunch bell chimes, and almost everyone seems to gravitate towards Lila to ask her questions about herself, wanting to get to know her. Minus an unimpressed Chloe who flounces away and right out the door first thing, tugging Sabrina along by the hand.

Adrien leans in close to whisper to Nino, “I’ve found some stuff about the Miraculous. Can you help me figure it out?”

“Course,” Nino nods, the two quickly gathering their things and getting up.

They head for the lockers so Adrien can grab his stuff, before heading for the Library. Very few people go to the Library during lunch. The only other student Adrien sees is a boy in a red hoodie looking through the comics section.

The couple head to a quiet corner to settle down at a table.

Adrien quietly explains what happened that morning. His Father, the hidden safe, the items. Plagg sits on the table between them, nodding along every once in a while.

“So…you found another Miraculous?” Nino asks, eyes wide. “That’s sorta wild.”

“Yeah, but it’s _dangerous_ ,” Adrien murmurs. “Using two at once? It feels like getting run over by a truck. It felt worse than me sharing my power with you.”

“Maybe we should look at the book first, then,” the dark-skinned boy offers. Adrien agrees readily, taking it out of his bag and placing the thick tome between them.

The blond cautiously flips open the book. There’s pages of…heroes? In old ink-drawing style, obviously based in Japanese or Chinese illustrations. There’s a fox heroine, a hero who’s a black cat, a ladybug heroine, a—

“Yo, is that _Hawkmoth_?” Nino hisses in surprise, jabbing a finger at the illustration of a butterfly-themed hero in lilac wielding a cane.

“Woah…It is,” Adrien breathes, exchanging a wide-eyed look with his boyfriend.

“Weird. What’s _he_ doing in a book about past heroes?”

“Maybe…Maybe he used to be? And then he turned evil,” Adrien offers. “That’s why we have to fight Hawkmoth, to get back the Butterfly Miraculous. So he can stop terrorizing Paris with it as a villain.”

Nino hums, tapping his fingers against the table. “So…Guess this means this book’s all about the past Miraculous, right? It seems uber important.”

“Yeah. Seems so,” Adrien agrees, before biting his lip. “It…It’s weird my Father has this…Plus a Miraculous hidden away…”

Nino wrinkles his nose. “He’s not the—the ‘Guardian’ old man Plagg talked about, right?”

“No way! No how!” Plagg barks, taking to the air to wave his paws around angrily. “That awful, terrible, controlling, stupid piece of stinky—”

“No,” Adrien translates for Plagg, wincing at the barrage of insults the Kwami hurls at his Father, which are getting more colorful by the second. “No, he’s not, Plagg’s telling me.”

Nino just looks back at him, eyebrows pulled together, lips curled down, brown eyes shining with concern. He carefully takes Adrien’s hand in his and says, quietly, somberly, “I dunno what else to tell you, Adrien, but…This ain’t a good sign. Your dad having these magic artifacts hidden in a secret safe? That’s _beyond_ fishy.”

“I know,” Adrien sighs, lowering his head. “It’s…It’s starting to look really bad. E-Especially with…how Mother disappeared…”

He feels Nino hook an arm around his shoulders, before his face is brought to rest on the crook of the other’s neck and shoulder. “Hey. We’ll figure it out, okay? Maybe we can finally meet this Guardian guy, and he’ll look over your things, and give us his opinion. Maybe your old man doesn’t know anything about the Miraculous biz, and he’s keeping these locked up for another reason.”

“What other reason is there…?” Adrien murmurs, sadness held at bay with the warm support his boyfriend gives him, the feeling of being curled up in Nino’s arms. It didn’t matter if it felt uncomfortable, twisted around in the stiff Library chair, huddled in the other’s arms when anyone could stumble across them. All that mattered was that Nino loved and supported him in this, like he did everything else.

“Dunno. But there might be one,” Nino admits, “I mean, you know your old man better than I do…”

“Right…” Adrien trails off, eyes gleaming as realization dawns on him. He clutches at Nino’s shirt, as he whispers out, “M…Mother…?”

“I—what?”

“Mother…She…She disappeared without a trace,” Adrien says, disentangling from Nino’s arms. He grips at his boyfriend’s forearms tightly, finding it a grounding effect as he rapidly says, “Mother disappeared, and Father still keeps all her things. Maybe these items belonged to her. Maybe they’re connected to how she’s disappeared. It’d explain how Father doesn’t know their importance, or hasn’t used them before, but he still has them in his safe.”

“Right…Okay,” Nino nods slowly, seemingly trying to process the other’s frantic explanation. “’Cuz if your old man knew about the Miraculous, there’d be another person running around with superpowers, right? Someone who’s the Peacock, like Ladybug having the ladybug and you with the cat.”

“Exactly!” Adrien hisses, feeling the pieces slot themselves together. “It’s—it makes too much sense. And if we can go to the Guardian with these things, maybe—”

“—He can help you figure out what happened with your mom,” Nino ends, on the exact same wavelength.

Adrien smiles wide, laughing and throwing his arms around Nino. It feels…elating. Feeling like he’s finally getting answers. Finding hope to his hopeless questions of whatever happened to his family.

They look through the book together, quietly ooh-ing and aah-ing over the different Miraculous holders. There’s way more than they expect. They find one of the peacock and more of the butterfly and fox, as well as some for the turtle, the bee, the dragon, the snake, and more.

“I never knew there were this many Miraculous out there…” the blond whispers, awed, as they slowly flip through the pages.

“Yeah. This is fucking _wild_ ,” the other agrees. “Before we give this over the Guardian dude, we should look through it all together. There might be hints on what other Miraculous we should be keeping our eyes out for. Just in case there’s others missing, or future villains with Miraculous you gotta fight, or something.”

“Good plan,” Adrien nods, hearing the bell ring. “Ah, crap, we didn’t even get to eat lunch!”

“Dang. Whoops,” Nino laughs sheepishly. “You think we could eat it quick between this class and the next?”

“We could try,” the blond snorts, closing the book and putting it back in his bag. “Now, let’s go. I gotta lug this thing around.”

* * *

“Hey there! Adrien, right?” the new girl giggles at him as Adrien shoulders his bag. “I don’t think I’ve gotten to talk to you yet. I wanted to during lunch, but you weren’t around at all!”

Next to him, Nino stiffens in his seat, eyeing Lila like a hawk. Adrien smiles politely at the Italian, watching as behind her shoulder, Chloe makes an over-the-top gagging motion. “Oh, I was studying in the Library.”

“Ooh, I’m sure you have _amazing_ grades,” Lila says sweetly, leaning in close and placing a hand on his arm. “Do you think you could help me study after school right now, too?”

“Um,” Adrien starts, feeling a little uncomfortable. “Could you please not touch my arm like that? Sorry, thanks.”

“Buzz off, new girl. It’s rude to touch people without their permission,” Chloe scoffs before the other girl can reply, standing from her seat. Lila retracts her hand and whirls in place. Chloe makes a little shooing motion. “You’re also in my way. Get out of the aisle, _please_.” The way the blonde drawls out ‘please’ is so passive aggressive, Adrien is actually impressed.

Lila quickly moves, somehow managing to almost drape herself over Adrien in the process. “Oh gosh, so sorry! Please, after you!” Chloe sneers at Lila, before stomping away, Sabrina quick on her heels with a calculating look.

“Lila, personal space, please,” Adrien says, a bit more curt this time, because having someone press their thighs close to one’s face is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable an experience.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Lila cries, quickly jumping away from him with an apologetic grin as she simpers, “Italians, you know? We’re all very physically affectionate, and don’t have much of a personal bubble. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Adrien.”

Adrien just keeps his model-perfect smile on his face as he stands up, letting out a noncommittal hum. He feels Nino hook an arm around his neck and pull him close to his side.

“Why don’t we all go?” the bespectacled boy offers, voice stiffer than normal. “The more the merrier, right?”

Lila’s smile seems to freeze on her face, before she blinks and turns to Nino. “Oh! I don’t think I got your name. Forgive me, I’m Lila. And you?”

“Nino. Yo,” Nino nods, baring his teeth at Lila in a sharp grin.

“What a great idea, Nino!” Marinette says quickly, making her way on Adrien’s other side, subtly acting as a shield between Adrien and the Italian. “A study group to help our new transfer student sounds perfect!”

“That’s right. Maybe some of the teachers talked a little too quick, and Lila needs help translating,” Alya says, going around the other side of their desk. “Let’s head down to the Library and get a head start.”

“Oh, I can speak French perfectly fine,” Lila demurs as the group of four friends, plus her, walk out of the room and heading towards the stairs. “I know a number of languages, actually. Sort of have to be able to pick them up, with all the moving I do. I know at least five with some sort of fluency.”

Adrien feels his eyebrows raise. “Wow! That’s impressive.”

“Thank you,” Lila smiles back sweetly, olive green eyes glittering with adoration as she looks up at Adrien.

Alya speaks up before Lila can single the model out once more. “That’s crazy impressive,” the blogger says, nudging Marinette in the side. “Homegirl here was raised in a multi-racial family. But five languages? That’s a lot.”

“Oh? What languages do you know, Marinette?” Lila asks, turning her attention politely to the half-Chinese girl.

“Um, French, Italian, and Cantonese. But my Cantonese is _really_ shaky. I don’t practice it much,” Marinette admits with an awkward grimace. “And I mostly speak Italian when my Nonna calls or visits.”

“Nonna on your mother or father’s side?”

“Father’s. Dad’s French-Italian,” Marinette explains.

Lila’s eyes gleam, and her subsequent smile at Marinette seems much more genuine than all her others combined. “Ah, that’s right, your name is Dupain-Cheng, yes? I’d wondered if you had any close Italian blood or not.”

“Papa speaks it well, and he still makes recipes from Nonna. We’ve got brioche at the bakery, and sometimes cannoli to order.”

“I’ll have to stop by sometime, then,” the Italian girl says, clasping her hands together, before looking at the others. “Oh…! Forgive me, are any of the rest of you multilingual?”

“French and English for me,” Alya nods.

“French and some Arabic, but I’m not fluent or anything,” Nino shrugs, disinterested.

Adrien shoots his boyfriend an encouraging smile, before turning to address the exchange student. “Well, I know four languages, but that’s with tons of tutoring,” he admits modestly. 

“Oh? Which languages do you know, Adrien?” Lila asks quickly, fiddling with one of her hair…bits. Bangs? Are those swinging bits on the sides of her face supposed to be stylized bangs?

The group finally walk up the final flight of stairs they need to. “Um…French, English, Japanese, and Cantonese,” Adrien ticks off on his fingers. “You?”

“Italian, English, French, German, and Cantonese,” is the girl’s swift and confident reply.

Adrien smiles as he notices Nathaniel enthusiastically talking to a boy in a red hoodie, someone Adrien’s seen around school occasionally, the two sitting on a bench not far outside the Library’s entrance. The hoodie-wearing boy is blushing and nodding along as the artist chatters and shows him his sketchbook. Good on Nathaniel, actually starting to talk to people outside their class.

The five enter the Library, quieting down to just whispers as they give Lila a mini tour of the space. The Italian looks around herself, looking mildly impressed at the size and amount of bookcases in the space. The greying Librarian gives the group a kind smile and wave that Adrien enthusiastically reciprocates.

They settle at one of the six-seater tables. Nino and Adrien sit together with Adrien at the very end of the table, Nino casually draping his arm across the back of the blond’s chair. Lila all but pounces on the chair across from Adrien before Alya can take it, the dark-skinned girl shooting the Italian a flat look behind her back, before taking the seat next to her. Marinette hesitates before taking a seat at the other end of the table, next to Nino.

The group work for about fifteen minutes—mostly asking Lila if she needed help in a certain subject and her flipping through her notes. It mostly seemed like she needed clarification on World History and Language Arts because of translation issues, and not on any of the information itself.

Minute fourteen hits, before an alarm Adrien’s phone reminds him that he needs to go to fencing.

“Shoot, I almost forgot!” he hisses, quick to shove his notebooks back in his bookbag. “I’ve got fencing practice, sorry.”

“That’s alright, Adrien,” Marinette whispers back. “Go on without us.”

“Here, gimme your bookbag,” Nino offers, “You’ll have less to lug around.”

“Thanks,” Adrien says, a little frantic as he waves at the girls and hands his bookbag off to his boyfriend, before speed-walking out of the library with Nino hot on his heels.

* * *

Nino waits for him for fencing practice to let out, like the loyal boyfriend he is. He cheers whenever Adrien scores a point, and Adrien’s beaming behind his mask by the time he finishes.

The blond is careful to grab and stuff the Miraculous—which he’d wrapped in an extra face towel—and shove it in his bag. He’ll find a proper hiding spot in his room when he gets home. He double-checks the tome is still in its place as well, and seeing everything’s accounted for, exits as one of the last fencers.

When he gets out of the locker room, Nino’s got his bookbag ready for him to take back. Adrien smiles warmly at his boyfriend. “Thanks.”

“No prob. Today’s been…A long fucking day, huh?” the cap-wearing boy snorts.

“You can say that again,” the blond jokes with a wink, knocking their shoulders together as they exit the Gym. Gorilla is already waiting for him in the parking lot in the usual limo. Nino walks him to the car like a complete gentleman.

Before he can make to get in, Gorilla rolls down the window and signs something at Adrien. The blond pauses, a little confused as he tries to parse out the signs, still too much of a novice at sign language to really help in deciphering. Gorilla then points straight at Nino, before jerking his thumb in a motion inside the car.

“Oh, he wants you to come with!” the blond blinks in realization, turning to his boyfriend. “You wanna hitch a ride back home with me?”

Nino just shrugs back at him with a growing grin. “I mean, if Gorilla’s offering…sure?”

The two enter the back of the limo, Nino looking around with awe, eyes all but sparkling. “ _Dude_. This is so cool…!”

“Oh, um. Thanks?” Adrien says bashfully, once again incredibly aware of how different his life experiences were from Nino’s own.

“I dig it,” Nino says with a little giddy laugh, stretching his legs out in front of him and throwing an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. He leans in and leaves a kiss on Adrien’s cheek. Adrien giggles, face warming with a blush.

Gorilla smiles at them from the rearview mirror. Adrien licks his lips, and asks, “Um, Gorilla…? I thought Father said no one else was supposed to ride with me? We did it twice, with Nino’s stint on TVi, but never in the limo…”

Gorilla slows to a stop at a stop light before meeting Adrien’s eyes in the rearview mirror with a deadpan stare and a raised brow.

“I think that’s Gorilla for, ‘ _what your Father doesn’t know won’t hurt him’_ ,” Adrien whispers to his boyfriend.

“You sure that isn’t something closer to, ‘ _fuck your Father_ ’?” Nino asks much to innocently, before snorting.

“Nino…!” Adrien gasps in mock offense. Nino’s snorts turn into full-blown laughter.

“Kidding, kidding…! Or am I?” the other asks with a smirk, before leaning in and planting another kiss on Adrien’s cheek. From the front, Gorilla lets out a low, rumbling laugh. “See! Even Gorilla agrees!”

“It’s true, but you shouldn’t _say_ it,” Adrien says exasperatedly with a roll of his eyes. Nino just snickers and rubs their noses together. “Pfff. My my, you’re _affectionate_ today.”

“Dunno what you mean,” Nino says innocently, but there’s a twinkle in his chocolate eyes that says otherwise. “I’m always affectionate, babe.”

“W-well,” the blond stumbles out, face aflame at the pet name, “Um, m-more than usual…”

Nino smiles back at him in a way that’s crooked and handsome and makes Adrien’s belly swoop like he’s falling. He gently grabs Adrien by the chin, leaning in to say in a low voice, “Well, I have to get those Lila germs off you somehow, right?”

The blond hums, eyes falling to half-mast and licking at his lips. “Oh, is that all? Very noble of you. My knight in shining armor.”

“You gonna reward me for protecting your honor, then, my prince?”

Adrien can’t help it. He breaks into embarrassed giggles, leaning in to press his burning face against Nino’s neck. “Oh my God, that’s so _cheesy_.”

“Hey, I thought you were a fan of cheesy,” Nino teases, threading a hand through Adrien’s hair.

The model bites down a comment about _Plagg_ being the cheese afficionado, not him. Either way, he sees his bag quiver from the Kwami’s mirth. “You’re still a dork.”

“But I’m _your_ dork,” his boyfriend says warmly.

“Mmm…Yeah, you are.”

When the car slows to a stop in front of Nino’s home, Adrien finally pulls back from their cuddling, though with great reluctance. He fumblingly grabs the other’s face, slowly leaning in. Nino intakes a sharp breath, eyes wide behind his glasses.

Adrien tilts his head a bit, like he remembers Nino doing, and tries to give his boyfriend a kiss. It’s clumsy, the way Adrien tries to connect their lips, but at least they don’t bump noses like his first attempt all the way back on their park date.

He sees Nino melt under him, fluttering his eyes closed. Adrien’s heart hammers and feels like it’s going to leave his throat, warm and pleased that he finally managed to get it right. This whole ‘kissing’ deal. Especially considering his boyfriend was always the one to initiate lip-on-lip contact, Adrien too awkward to do it.

When he pulls back, Nino gasps in a breath, looking dazed as he opens his eyes. “Thanks for protecting me today,” Adrien tells him sincerely with a little smile. “Now, go on. I think your moms might start to worry why we’ve been parked outside your house for so long.”

“R-Right,” Nino stutters out, face covered in a blush that warms Adrien’s hands. The blond finally lets the other’s face go, and Nino bites his lip and shoulders his backpack. “Later, _rouhi_.”

“Yeah, later,” the blond says with a little wave of his hand.

His boyfriend gives him one last gooey smile before exiting the limo, and Adrien once again completely forgets to ask Nino what the foreign word means.

* * *

Nino gives him a gooey smile, sighing fondly as he opens his window. “ _Really_ …?”

Chat Noir grins back toothily, landing in a crouch inside the other’s room. “What? Not a fan of cats?”

“I’ve got more of a problem with strays,” Nino teases back, quick to close the window and draw the curtains of his room again. “What’s up?”

The great thing about having a boyfriend that knows one’s secret identity is being able to share details to said boyfriend. Another great thing? Adrien being able to escape his home with said superpowers, climbing in through Nino’s window for some ear scritches and quality cuddles.

“I’m thinking how to ask Ladybug about the Guardian and book. I need brainstorming help,” the cat hero pouts as he climbs onto Nino’s bed, waiting for his boyfriend to settle himself before flopping over, pushing his head on the other’s lap in a manner he hopes conveys the cuteness of a cat.

“ _And_ you get to lay down on my lap and have me pet your hair,” Nino snorts, smiling down at the leather-clad hero. He starts to thread a hand through Chat Noir’s golden locks, nails dragging slightly against his scalp, and the cat hero lets out a little purr. Nino laughs in response. “Which _totally_ isn’t a factor at play, here.”

“Totally,” Chat Noir smirks back up at him, eyes half-lidded and body boneless and comfortable, head pillowed by his boyfriend’s thighs. They’re quite comfortable. He could get used to this. “So. Ideas?”

* * *

Adrien has no idea how to get Lila to stop mooning after him.

She’s very insistent in her attempts to spend time with Adrien at lunch or after school. Nino naturally jumps in to divert her attention, as well as Marinette and Alya. Sometimes she gets pulled by another classmate to sit with them during lunch, giving Adrien little thumbs up behind the Italian’s back.

It’s…relieving to know that their classmates support him in this as well. While Lila was a sweet enough girl, he just…felt uncomfortable with her attention. And every time she seemed to try to get close, Nino’s hackles would rise as well, since his boyfriend was protective to a fault.

Once Adrien is 100% sure Lila is occupied in another table—Alix had literally latched herself to the transfer student’s arm and dragged Lila to sit with her at her table, which included Kim, so Lila wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon—he lets out a long sigh of relief.

Nino rubs his back comfortingly, and the blond finds the tension leave his shoulders. “You good?”

“For now, yeah,” the blond smiles slightly back at his boyfriend. “She’s draining, but I’ve dealt with worse.”

Nino’s expression morphs into a dark look. “You shouldn’t _have_ to deal with this at all.”

“She’s new,” Adrien shrugs, leaning against Nino’s shoulder. “She’ll get over it.”

“Adrien, I don’t think _anyone_ likes the fact that she keeps making you uncomfortable,” Marinette points out, “especially not Nino.”

“Damn straight,” the cap-wearing boy nods, adjusting his arm so it was casually wrapped around Adrien’s shoulder. The blond sighs, but he smiles up at the other boy’s protectiveness.

“Y’all know I’m not a fan of her trying to get cozy with Adrien,” Alya starts, quickly getting the other three’s attention. “But another reminder, she _did_ just transfer. She wouldn’t know you’re both dating, since our class is keeping it secret for Adrien’s protection. It makes perfect sense she acts like how she does.”

“That’s true…” Marinette trails off.

“Right,” Adrien nods, feeling a bit bad.

“All I’m saying is we should give her time and not, like, instantly shun her just because she’s new and doesn’t know anything about our class,” Alya says, looking pointedly between the three of them. “’Cuz need I remind you, me and Sunshine here got plopped in Bustier’s class when everyone else already sort of knew each other. It’s a little intimidating.”

Marinette and Nino smile back sheepishly. Adrien smiles, grabbing at Nino’s hand draped over his shoulder to rub his thumb over the other’s knuckles. Nino promptly shifts his arm away to a less protective stance, the couple threading their hands together under the table.

“Well, I feel like we need to keep an eye on her anyways…” Marinette starts slowly, quietly, fiddling with one of her hair ribbons. “I mean, ever since I took her to the bakery and let her eat some of the Italian pastries Papa makes—y’know, help give her a piece of home, and all— she’s been super-duper nice to me. But I’m not liking the way she acts with Adrien, and some of the things she says…”

“Yeah, she tried to claim that she knew Steven Spielberg,” Nino snorts. “Like…Okay. I’ll believe it when I see at least a pic, or something. Lots of people throw his name around.”

“She keeps trying to hint to me that she wants to be a model,” Adrien adds, wrinkling his nose. “Which…”

“ _Suspicious_ ,” Nino whispers, waggling his fingers. Adrien snorts.

“Hm. Well, she tried telling me she was Ladybug’s best friend,” Alya says next, rather calmly.

Marinette nearly chokes on her drink. Adrien and Nino gape. The blogger casually pats Marinette’s back to help her stop choking, and when the half-Chinese girl finally stops sputtering, she half-screams out an indignant, “ _What_?!”

“She tried telling me she was Ladybug’s best friend,” the dark-skinned girl states again, in the same eerily even tone. “And then gave me an ‘interview’ about it. I told her I’d hold onto it to edit it later.”

“But you’re definitely not editing it,” the blond says what went unsaid.

“Nope,” Alya says, popping the ‘p’. “Ladybug hasn’t appeared anywhere outside of Paris, and Lila just moved here. Pretty hard for her to be besties with Ladybug so quick, I’d think.”

“ _No_ … Lila tried lying to _you_ about Ladybug? Really?” Marinette asks, looking almost awed at the audacity. “Wow. She really doesn’t know who she’s dealing with, huh?”

“She probably thinks she does,” Adrien says slowly, the pieces falling into place in his mind. He leans in, making his voice go quiet, the others leaning in to mirror him. “After all, our class is all over the news, since most of us have gotten Akumatized by now. There’s me and Chloe as the most famous students in our class, from our parents, but Alya’s Ladyblog is the number one source for all things Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“And if she says she’s Ladybug’s best friend to the person that runs the Ladyblog, she’d get an interview on the site, and could get famous from it,” Marinette points out.

“So she’s trying to get street cred with us, is what you’re saying,” Nino nods, face wrinkled up into one of disgust. “She’s using us, but only if we’re famous enough to get her something.”

Adrien grimaces, giving a hiss. “Yeah…sounds likely.”

“Or—and lemme play devil’s advocate here—” Alya starts up, raising a hand in a ‘wait’ gesture. “Maybe Lila’s trying to use what she’s heard from the news to impress us and make friends. Everyone in our class is famous from the news, yeah—but that’s also hella intimidating to be walking into.”

“So…She might think she _needs_ to lie to us, to impress us and be our friend?” the half-Chinese girl wonders with a frown.

“That’s the more, um, _charitable_ interpretation of her actions,” Adrien shrugs, fiddling with his fork. “I mean, I’ll try and give Lila the benefit of the doubt…”

“Same,” Nino nods begrudgingly. “But I’m not letting her try and drape herself over Adrien.”

“You shouldn’t. That’s beyond gross,” the blogger agrees with a firm nod. “Let’s just…play along. See how wild her lies get. And see if we can convince her to stop lying to try and impress us.”

“Hm. I think the only person she hasn’t really lied to is me, now that I think about…” the half-Chinese girl notes, swirling the water in her water bottle.

“I mean, she connected with you ‘cuz you’re part Italian. She probably didn’t feel the need to lie at all,” Alya says, stretching her arms out with a sigh. “Anyways. Let’s all keep our eyes peeled.”

“Right!” “Okay.” “Sounds good.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally introduce Lila in this chapter! I know she's been a highly anticipated character/antagonist, but she only shows up at the Season 1 finale, so we had to slowly build up to her.
> 
> Hopefully the way the characters handle her here is something y'all enjoy. Everyone is a bit sharper and on this side of doggedly loyal in this universe. We'll see how that affects the events in next chapter.


	12. Volpina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had so much buildup, but it's finally here! It was a blast, if only because of everyone being so Done with Lila... You'll see what I mean.

* * *

Adrien keeps his eyes peeled as he slips into the Library.

He managed to convince Gorilla to drop him off at school before classes started, planning to be with Nino that morning. They’re going to take one final look at the book Adrien had found in Father’s office earlier that week.

The more time passes, after all, the greater the chance his Father will figure out the book—and Miraculous—are gone from his hidey hole. They need to wrap things up and come to some sort of decision. Adrien was hoping for them to finish taking notes and cataloguing the book today, then in the afternoon, he’s going to call for Ladybug and show her the book. See if she knows anything about it. If not, he’s going to go meet the Guardian directly tomorrow.

Adrien goes to the back corner table he shared with Nino last time they were alone with the tome. On the way there, he shoots a smile at the kind and greying librarian, who was scanning returned books up at the front desk.

It doesn’t take long for Nino to text him he was on his way. A little less than five minutes later, the cap-wearing boy walking with purpose towards their corner table with his bag and…a camera?

“Polaroid camera. Perfect for taking pics of evidence, no digital files that can be hacked, and we can burn ‘em later to keep it all a secret,” Nino explains, setting the camera down gently on the table. He’s grinning at Adrien, preening and proud, obviously having thought long and hard about this.

“Great idea!” the blond nods, smiling back at his boyfriend. “You keep them at your place, I’ll keep the book?”

“You got it,” Nino says with a wink and two finger guns.

Adrien gives a warm chuckle, getting the tome out and flipping it open. “Okay. Let’s try and take pics of as many of the ladybug, cat, and butterfly heroes. Then we’ll just catalogue one of each of the new ones that pop up. I’ll get the list going.”

* * *

They get distracted, stopping to _ooh_ and _aah_ at cool designs and chatting during their task. Adrien takes notes all the while, writing down the Miraculous animals and what item they appear to be. Some of them are necklaces, some bracelets—it all depended on the Miraculous, it seems.

They only get through halfway through the book before the bell rings for Homeroom to start. The pair scramble to put their things away, Nino sloppily scooping up the photos in his bag, Adrien double-checking to make sure he properly hides his Miraculous notes and the tome.

Adrien is restless during lessons, but takes notes like he’s supposed to. His mind keeps going back to the book, to his plans to ask Ladybug, to wondering who the Guardian could be, if the man could help him find his Mother. Countless thoughts swirling in his head, his pencil scratching down parts of the lecture automatically.

Nino is jiggling his knee all the while, so much so he accidentally knocks it against the desk and yelps at the pain. The cap-wearing boy apologizes to their teacher sheepishly for the interruption, rubbing at his knee, and Adrien fights down a few giggles, endlessly charmed.

By the time lunchtime rolls around, the pair are swift at gathering their things, intending to finish what they started before school. Except, as they try to leave, Lila calls out for them. “Adrien! Nino!”

Nino stiffens and tries to walk faster, but Adrien quickly catches his wrist. The darker-skinned boy huffs and gives him a grimace, but slows down.

“What do you need, Lila?” Adrien asks politely, hoping it was something quick so that he and Nino could use their time as they intended.

“Where are you going? To the Library again? Can I come with?” the Italian asks quickly, clutching at her bag and smiling brightly.

Adrien fights down a grimace, keeping his usual model-perfect smile in place. “Oh, me and Nino are working on a personal project together, sorry. We won’t be able to help you study or—”

“That’s fine!” the girl interrupts, her posture meek but her eyes calculating. “I just don’t want to sit alone as I work, is all. I’ll make sure not to bother you or anything, either!”

The boys look at one another, managing to have an entire conversation through their gazes. Nino raises a brow, Adrien gives a minute shrug, and then the model is turning to give Lila a polite smile. “Of course you can come with. Sorry if we make a lot of noise, though.”

“Thank you!” the girl chirps, all but skipping to join them in their walk to the Library. Nino turns to look down the hall to hide a roll of his eyes, and Adrien bumps their shoulders together and shoots him a soothing little smile. Nino’s profile softens, and he bumps Adrien’s shoulder back gently.

They take their usual corner table. Nino and Adrien on one side, Lila sitting across from Adrien. The cap-wearing boy gets out his camera and Adrien the book. He doesn’t risk getting out his notes, instead opting for a sticky note for noting any other Miraculous he didn’t write down before.

So far, it seems like all the Chinese Zodiac have Miraculous as well, on top of the Ladybug, Cat, Butterfly, Peacock, Turtle, Fox, and Bee. The fact that the book looks like it has illustrations from China, it seems to fit perfectly that such Miraculous include those based on the Chinese Zodiac.

Adrien hasn’t seen any other Miraculous in the book so far outside of those two different sets, but he’s willing to keep an eye peeled regardless.

“What’re you two doing, anyways?” Lila asks casually. She has her own notes out—for History, it looks like, alongside her textbook—but she’s looking at the tome with intensity. Obviously, her curiosity is peaked.

Nino gives her a flat look. “It’s not nice to be nosy.”

The Italian blinks back at them, gaping and with a wounded look on her face. “I-I wasn’t trying to be nosy!”

Adrien quickly puts a soothing hand on Nino’s, trying to tell him through his gaze to drop it. They promised not to antagonize Lila, after all. Just keep an eye on her. “We’re…cataloguing,” he says vaguely. “Just a personal project, that’s all.”

The boys get to it. Adrien leafs through the pages to where he left a small scrap of paper as a bookmark. It’s on an illustration of one of the Ladybug wielders. Nino readies his camera and takes a picture.

“Is that Ladybug?” Lila demands, leaning forwards and tugging the book towards her.

Adrien instantly shoots a hand out and grabs the book, tugging it back towards him and straight out of Lila’s grip. His smile is distinctly strained as he says, “I’d appreciate it if you don’t take things without my permission.”

“Sorry! Sorry,” the girl says quickly, putting on a contrite expression that doesn’t reach the calculating gleam of her olive-green eyes. “But is that a book about Ladybug, or not?”

“Not just Ladybug,” the blond starts slowly, hesitating. “Um, it’s of different heroes as well.”

“Can I see?”

Adrien glances at Nino, who looks annoyed, but nods back at him. Adrien decides that if it’ll assuage Lila’s curiosity and get her off their backs, maybe letting her see a page or two will be a good sacrifice to the cause.

“Sure,” he says cautiously, turning the book around and pushing it towards the transfer student. Lila leans forwards, eyes bright as she hungrily stares at the illustration of the Ladybug-themed heroine, before turning the page carefully. It shows a new illustration of what looks like a Fox heroine. Lila’s eyes are wide as she stares, as if wanting to burn every detail into her memory.

“This is amazing,” she breathes. “It looks old, too. Where’d you even _get_ this?”

“It’s my Father’s. From his business trip in Shanghai,” Adrien says as a cover. “Rare book, few in print. So I’m not a fan of letting just anyone look at it.”

“Well, thanks a lot for letting me look,” the Italian says sweetly, pushing the book back towards him. Adrien internally scoffs, because it’s not like she gave him much of a choice on the matter. She goes on conversationally with, “I actually know Ladybug, y’know. That’s why I couldn’t help but be curious when I saw her in your book—”

Nino sputters, covering his bark of incredulous laughter with a fake coughing fit. Adrien turns to pat him on the back, also trying very hard not to crack. “Sorry, what was that, Lila?” Adrien asks her after Nino’s ‘coughing fit’ recedes.

The Italian’s smile is strained as she looks back at them, gaze soon falling on just Adrien to address. “Well, I was just saying, I know Ladybug. Pretty well, actually. If you want, we can meet after school at the park, and I can tell you all about it?”

“Sure,” Nino starts, before Adrien can say anything, his smile sharp and canines gleaming. “Why not? I’ll hear you out.”

The Italian’s expression twitches, shooting Nino a narrow-eyed look before she schools her expression to one of sugary sweetness. “Great. And Adrien, you’ll be there, right?”

“I had plans for after school,” Adrien starts, voice professional to go with his polite smile. “But I can be there for a few minutes.”

“Glad to have you there,” his boyfriend says, draping an arm around the blond’s shoulders and pulling him flush against his side.

Lila’s smile freezes on her face. Her voice sounds rather strained as she says, “Yes. Can’t wait for then.”

Adrien can all but _feel_ Nino’s smugness rolling off his form, and he bites his lip to bite down his laughter. The blond nudges the other gently in the side with his elbow, as a mild warning to play nice. Either way, he’s relieved that Nino was so quick to insert himself into Lila’s little scheme. No doubt the girl wanted to get Adrien alone and try to woo him by pretending she was best friends with Ladybug.

Too bad he already has a boyfriend and is partners with Ladybug with exactly zero romantic interest in her. He’s sure this scheme would have worked on most other guys. Hell, it would’ve worked on him months ago, before he realized he didn’t actually like Ladybug. Before he realized he was in love with Nino.

But he’s very much in love with his boyfriend, who is very protective of him. No amount of lying from some new girl will change that, either. Lila picked the wrong people to try and manipulate.

* * *

Adrien’s ready to not let Lila’s manipulations ruin his day today. He’s on a time crunch, after all.

If things start getting long, he’ll have to set aside talking to Ladybug and meeting the Guardian later. Another wasted day, another day closer to his Father finding the book and Miraculous gone. Another chance at danger.

It’s fine. Talking to Lila shouldn’t be too long an affair, and he can always use his Father needing him as an excuse to leave.

In fact, him and Nino had a nice half of the lunch hour by themselves, Lila excusing herself halfway through. With her gone, Nino and Adrien were allowed to take pictures and write notes in peace. With some snuggling, of course.

As it is, Adrien feels oddly calm, the time alone with Nino having done some good to take his stress levels back down once more.

His attention is split as he takes notes for class, but that’s just something that’s happened for most of the week anyways. After all this stress is done, he’s going to have to do some hard-core reviewing of the material… Maybe having a study session with the group… Or maybe a study date with Nino? He’d suggested one earlier. It seemed like an enjoyable prospect, and no doubt some cuddling would be a great motivator while studying…

After letting his mind drift, the final bell finally tolls. Adrien lets out a sigh of relief, packing his things. By the time he’s done, Nino’s also ready, the two heading together for the door.

“Adrien, wait for me…!” Lila calls. Nino lets out a sigh that Adrien hopes the girl doesn’t hear, as the two pause not that far from the classroom’s door. Nino mutters a string of Arabic words under his breath as they wait, which Adrien guesses are probably insults, by the vehemence of utter distaste alone.

The duo lean against the wall of the hallway, watching their classmates stream out the door and giving them sympathetic looks. Marinette and Alya seem particularly pitying and exasperated, respectively. Rose and Juleka clasp hands and wave, both grimacing and glancing back at the door. Alix gives them a peace sign and a “rest in pieces, dudes”. Nathaniel just walks right past them all, oddly enough making a beeline to Mendeleieve’s room down the hall, calling out for a “Marc!”—who turns out to be the boy in a red hoodie from earlier.

Lila emerges from Bustier’s Homeroom, ignoring their classmates, her eyes only on Adrien. It seems like the Italian was completely unaware of the rest of the class either giving her the stink eye, or feeling bothered by her attempting to attach herself to Adrien like a leech.

Well. They’d planned to humor Lila, and Adrien isn’t going to break from that promise just yet. He’s willing to give people second chances.

“Sorry, almost forgot you wanted to talk,” Adrien apologizes to the Italian, like a liar.

“It’s fine,” the transfer student simpers, automatically forgiving them. Or at least, forgiving Adrien. “Let’s go, shall we?”

Walking to the park is a normally enjoyable experience. Less so with Lila involved, standing a bit too close to Adrien’s other side than he likes, but not close enough to be impolite.

Nino is pretty much attached to the blond’s other side, their hands brushing with every step. He’s tensed as he walks, not his usual casual stance and pace, though he keeps a hand in a pocket to play at casual.

Mylene and Ivan are walking ahead of them. Makes sense, as Ivan lives close to the park. It’s comforting to be in the vicinity of his classmates, though, Adrien will admit.

It’s funny, because Alix and Kim race past them on the sidewalk as well. The sporty duo almost knock Lila right off her feet, Kim calling an apology over his shoulder as Alix cackles. Ivan stops and shifts Mylene to stand in front of him to shield her, already used to their classmates’ shenanigans. Kim and Alix run around them with a decent berth.

“Sorry about them. You’ll get used to their races,” Adrien says, grabbing onto the Italian’s shoulder to steady her.

“Thank you,” Lila smiles back at him while fluttering her lashes. Adrien quickly lets his hand fall from her shoulder.

He also feels prickling at the back of his neck, like he’s being watched. He glances behind him, noting Juleka and Rose were hand-in-hand, trailing after them and also seemingly walking to the park…?

Wow. The park sure was a popular destination today, it seemed. The model huffs to himself, nudging Nino in the side and gesturing slightly behind him. Nino smiles over at him and glances behind his shoulder, just giving a huff of laughter at catching their classmates following them.

“What’s so funny?” Lila asks quickly, seemingly incapable of letting Nino and Adrien interact without inserting herself in the conversation.

“Nothing’s really funny. I think it’s just sweet that so many couples from our class are going to the park today, is all,” Adrien says casually with a grin and a shrug. Nino stealthily links their pinkies together, and the model fights to keep his expression one of vaguely neutral positivity. “Though maybe Ivan and Mylene are going to his parent’s café. It’s close to the park.”

“Oh…! Ivan the—the very tall one with the short girlfriend, right?” the Italian asks, stumbling over her words a bit. “I didn’t know his family owned a café! How quaint.”

“We didn’t know either, ‘til we showed up there during Valentine’s Day,” Nino says, much too casual, a gleeful gleam in his eyes. Adrien unlinks their pinkies and shoves his elbow into his boyfriend’s side, because they were keeping their relationship on the down-low for a _reason_. Considering Lila’s propensity for lying, Adrien didn’t exactly trust her with the information, just yet.

“Crazy-packed, considering the day, and an Akuma attack happened too. Sort of ruined the hangout. But their coffees were good! You should try their iced coffees, ten out of ten, would recommend.”

The Italian smiles back at them, eyes drifting from Adrien to Nino. “Oh, I’m so sorry about your _hangout_. I’d be happy to see what’s on their menu at a later time, though, if someone is willing to take me…” And now she’s looking at Adrien and fluttering her lashes again.

The model purposefully ignores her soft attempt at asking him out, playing the ‘oblivious fuck’ card. “Nino got a hot coffee and said it was pretty good, so you won’t go wrong with anything from their menu. All their stuff’s fair trade, as well! Mylene really enjoys it there, though half of it is probably because of her boyfriend being involved.”

“How…sweet,” is the girl’s somewhat strained reply. Nino ducks his head to adjust his cap and hide his growing smirk.

“Oh, we’re just about here!” the blond says with only slightly forced cheer, relieved they were going to end this soon enough. “The park really isn’t too far from school, it’s pretty nice to walk to.”

“I’m sure it’s a great place for dates,” the Italian says sweetly while eyeing him, part two of her attempt to ask for a date.

“Oh, it is,” Nino says brightly. “Hanging out, dates, the whole nine yards. Right, Adrien?”

Adrien is two seconds away from laughing. He feels _so_ bad for Lila being stuck in the shadows about him and Nino’s relationship. But at the same time, it’s pretty hilarious, and a dark little part of him is enjoying fucking around with Lila’s attempts at seducing him. Being a petty asshole was surprisingly enjoyable. He can see why Chloe and his Father are such huge fans of it.

* * *

Adrien feels like being a petty asshole was the least of his problems right now, because Lila just claimed to be a superhero to his face, with a fake Miraculous. If anything makes him want to scream, it’s this very moment.

“Ladybug saved my life, and we’ve become very close friends…You see, we’ve got something special in common. I’m descended from a vixen heroine, myself. Volpina.” She grabs a chain from around her neck—something she didn’t have before, actually, if Adrien remembers earlier that day correctly—showing the boys a necklace that has the design of a fox tail.

There’s only dead silence, as the boys take in what she said, and try very hard not to outright laugh in her face. Because it just seems too convenient how, that same day, Lila looked at the Miraculous book and just so happened to see an illustration of a fox heroine. Now here she is, suddenly descended from one.

Yeah, okay. And the moon was made of cheese.

The girl scowls back at them, confused by their silence, at the fact that they were just sitting on the bench un-movingly. “So…? C-C’mon, what’s…What with your total non-reaction? I just told you I’m a superhero!”

“Yeah, nah, I totally don’t buy it,” Nino says with a casual shrug of his shoulders. Lila’s mouth falls open in complete shock, as the cap-wearing boy turns to the blond to ask, “How ‘bout you?”

“Same. I’m afraid it’s a little too far-fetched a story. It’s very hard to believe,” Adrien says, trying to be gentle to soften the blow.

“What do you mean far-fetched?! I have the necklace! Like the fox heroine in your book…!” Lila says—all but demands, really.

“Mmmmm, yeah, no. Still don’t buy it,” Nino dismisses with another shrug. “Why would a superhero tell two civilians her secret identity? You barely know us, fam.”

“Telling us would put us in grave danger, if it were true,” Adrien hedges, trying not to let the irony of Nino’s statement push him into a fit of sarcastic laughter. “It’s…well, it’s a little irresponsible, if you actually _are_ a superhero. Rule one of superheroes is to keep it secret to protect your loved ones and other civilians.”

The girl gapes back at them. “You…I…” And then her expression shifts, almost as quickly as a screen being wiped away, a mask being put on. One of grief and insecurity. “I-I told you both because—because I thought we were friends. I—”

Nino finally breaks. He cuts the girl off with a loud, sarcastic bout of laughter, throwing his head back with the action. “Hah! That’s rich, comin’ from the chick who’s just been throwing herself at Adrien and barely even talked to me! You’re completely wack, and so’s your lies, Lila.”

Lila turns to look at the model, almost desperate, as she asks, “Adrien, you—you believe me, right?”

“I’m afraid you being a superhero doesn’t make any sense, Lila…” he apologizes awkwardly.

“Could you give it up, already?” the cap-wearing boy asks, exasperated, when the Italian opens her mouth. “Bruh, neither of us actually believe your lies. Could you just stop lying for, like, two seconds?”

“I’m not lying! You’re just dismissing me! You, you—you sexist pig!”

“Hey. Don’t make claims about Nino like that,” Adrien tells her sharply, straightening his spine. “I don’t believe what you’ve said either, but you’re not insulting _me_ of being sexist. And—would you look at that, I just so happen to have pale skin. Funny that, right…?”

Lila pales and gapes at the face of his venom. “W-what. I didn’t—Adrien, y-you’re the one being nice to me, of _course_ I didn’t call you—"

“Ohhhh my _God_ ,” Nino groans, slapping a hand over his face and dragging it down. “Just stop acting, already. Adrien doesn’t like you, okay? I know you’re trying to impress him, but he’s not interested!”

“Stop talking like you know everything!” Lila shrieks back at him, standing up from her seat. “Stop speaking for Adrien! He can tell me himself, if he really doesn’t!”

“ _If_ he does? You’re just diggin’ yourself deeper in that hole, Jan, but okay.”

Adrien hisses and grimaces, standing from the bench, raising his hands in placation. Nino stands as well, his body heat a warm presence behind his shoulder. “Lila, I’m sorry, but—"

Adrien watches as the girl’s olive eyes go glassy, before she’s burying her face in her hands and crying loudly. “W-Why’re you so mean to me…? Adrien, h-how are you this jerk’s friend?”

Oh _hell_ no. This girl wasn’t going to make a scene to paint his boyfriend as a bad guy, and turn him against Nino. No way in hell.

Adrien’s well-versed in deception. He’s been raised in an affluent family, for one. Two, he was best friends with Chloe for a few years. He’s seen her use crocodile tears dozens of times to garner sympathy and get what she wants. So while he _is_ a little nervous, Adrien’s more than equipped to not be swayed by Lila’s ploy.

“Lila, I’m _not_ interested in dating you. Now, could you please stop trying to isolate and turn me against those I care about? Because it’s not cute,” Adrien tells her flatly.

Lila gasps, looking up at him. No actual tears on her face—she’d been faking it. Of _course_ she was. Why did he ever expect anything different? “And even if I _was_ interested—which I’m _not_ —your habit of constantly lying makes me want nothing to do with you,” he adds bluntly, more than fed up with her.

The Italian sniffles, eyes turning red and tears spilling down her cheek, and she gives an ugly sob. Then she buries her face in her hands and turns away.

Adrien sighs, guilt already hitting him like a hammer. “Lila, I’m sorry. If you’d like to stay friends, I—”

“Sh-shut up! I—I hate you!” the girl declares, voice thick and wavering, letting out another sob. “I h-hate you _both_ …!” She ducks her head and snags her bag from the bench, then promptly runs away, making to leave the park.

“Oh no,” Adrien whispers.

“Lila…!” Marinette calls, darting out from behind a tree and running after the Italian. “Lila, wait…!”

Behind him, Nino hisses and places a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it slowly. “I…damn. Now I actually feel kinda bad…”

“I feel bad, too. We just made the girl cry and run away,” the blond sighs sadly, placing a hand on top of Nino’s and gripping it, wanting to share strength with his boyfriend.

The two watch as the rest of their classmates spill out from behind the nearby trees around their bench, apparently having been spying on their disastrous meeting. Not close enough to eavesdrop, hopefully… though Alya walks out from behind the closest tree with a sympathetic grimace that makes Adrien reconsider that thought.

It’s surprising, how many of their classmates are there to spy and eavesdrop. The only ones missing are Nathaniel, Ivan, and Mylene. Adrien also can’t help but notice that the only person that actually bothered to run after Lila and try to comfort her was Marinette, which was…telling.

“So for once, _I’m_ not the one making people cry and Akumatizing them!” Chloe notes, voice gleeful as she sashays towards the boyfriends with a raised brow, Sabrina trailing behind her.

“It’s definitely an improvement,” the glasses-wearing redhead nods.

The blonde heiress gives an imperious sniff, haughty. “Honestly, she sounded like a brat, and _totally_ deserved it.”

“Chloe,” Adrien sighs.

“ _Chloe_!” Sabrina chides, smacking the queen bee gently on the shoulder. “No one deserves to be Akumatized.” Well, that’s certainly new.

Before Adrien can process Sabrina scolding Chloe, of all things—and seemingly being able to get away with it—Alya speaks next. “And if she _does_ , she’ll go after Adrien and Nino,” the blogger says darkly.

Chloe gasps, a hand flying up to her mouth before she arcs it across herself in a sharp motion. “Oh, _hell_ no! That homewrecking hussie isn’t touching a single hair on Adri’s head, if _I_ say anything about it!”

“Yeah! We’ll protect you!” Kim cheers, pumping a fist in the air.

“Homewreckers get no sympathy,” Alix says with a sharp grin, cracking her knuckles.

“It’s inadvisable to fistfight an Akuma, everyone!” Max pipes up, looking utterly scandalized by even the mere suggestion.

“What if we have weapons? That wouldn’t be fist fighting!” Rose chirps, raising her hand and waving it in the air, like she was still in class.

“Metal,” Juleka nods along with her girlfriend. “I’ve got a bass at school. We can smash it over her head, maybe?”

“Awesome!” Rose squeals, clinging against her girlfriend’s side, the goth giving a pleased smile.

“Oh my God, guys, we’re _not_ going to fight Lila! _Especially_ if she’s an Akuma!” Adrien calls, trying to get some semblance of order over his friends-slash-classmates. This seems to calm down the others enough that they’re not raring to march off after the girl right that second in a witch hunt.

“It’s way too dangerous for you dudes to get involved, anyways,” Nino says, adjusting his cap with a frown. “Lila’s got beef with _us_ , not any of you guys.”

“And you two can’t survive an Akuma on your own!” Alya retorts, hands on her hips, the rest of their friends nodding along. “We should stay to protect you, until Ladybug and Chat Noir come by!”

The blond would be touched by the vehemency of his classmate’s protectiveness, if not for the fact that he can’t exactly wait for Chat Noir to appear, as he _was_ Chat Noir.

“I can be bait,” his boyfriend offers. “She’s probably way more mad at me, anyways. I’ll distract her.” He turns his gaze to Adrien, threading their fingers together, a soft and knowing smile on his face. “And Adrien can go and hide.”

Rose, Juleka, Sabrina and Kim let out an almost perfectly synchronized “ _awwww_ ” at that. The rest look skeptical at the plan.

Max then states, “I believe we’re in trouble. There’s a meteor in the sky.”

All of them snap their heads up alongside the tech wiz. There is, in fact, a giant meteor looking like it’s going to fall on Paris.

“We gotta find cover!” Kim hollers in a panic, scooping up Max and Alix under each arm and booking it out of the park, Max simply going limp while Alix tries to break out of the hold with a slew of colorful curses.

Chloe shrieks and starts running, Sabrina trying to run after her with a call of, “Ch-Chloe, wait…!” Rose squeals and clings to Juleka, the goth pulling her girlfriend by the hand, urging her to run with a somewhat frantic, “Rose, we gotta go.”

Well, that’s convenient. Adrien shares a look with Nino, and the two nod, before sprinting off to find someplace private for the blond to transform into Chat Noir. They leave Alya behind, who whips out her phone and runs off to track the meteor.

Well, that’s _one_ way to split off from their nosy classmates…

* * *

Adrien hopes his classmates will be okay, as he leans against the wall of the nearest nook he can find, the shadows providing only slight cover.

“Good luck,” Nino tells him quietly, hands on either side of Adrien’s head, boxing him in against the wall and shielding Adrien from view from any passerby.

“Thanks,” the blond grins back at his boyfriend. He reaches out and tugs on the headphones wrapped around the other’s neck, bringing Nino into a quick but firm kiss. He manages to land it correctly, no bumping noses. Maybe the practice he’s managed to get in has been helpful, after all.

When he pulls back, Nino blinks down at him, mahogany eyes dazed and a flush high on his cheekbones.

Adrien simply grins back, something crooked and confident. “Sorry, I just had to. Plagg, Claws Out!”

After a few moments to re-adjust to his new features and added appendages, he reaches out and gently taps Nino on the nose, careful with his claw-like nails. “Try not to get into _too_ much trouble, okay?”

“A-Alright,” Nino stumbles out, licking his lips. “I’ll—I’ll hang around the park again, so I’ll be easy for you to find, later.”

“Will do,” Chat Noir winks, startling slightly when his boyfriend leans in to give him a peck on the lips. His face feels warm behind his mask and his confident smile softens into something probably incredibly soppy. “Heh. Alright then. See ya, sweetheart.”

“ _Sweetheart_?” Nino sputters when the hero simply ducks under his arms and runs out into the street.

Chat Noir just gives a laugh, extending his baton and launching himself to the rooftops, catching the other’s flustered expression before he’s soaring across the Parisian skyline. That expression fuels him, fuels his need to protect Paris even further. His boyfriend was very much an inspiration for him to fight the good fight.

If he reaches it in time, he might be able to Cataclysm the meteor. He’s not sure how quickly Ladybug will be able to be on the scene—

Chat Noir lands on a rooftop and gapes up at a vixen heroine flying up and catching the meteor in her hands, before launching it right back into the sky.

Well, shit. Seems like Lila got Akumatized, and she turned herself into a fake superhero. He’s not exactly sure how she managed to get super strength and flight out of the deal. But maybe everything was… fake?

The leather-clad hero shakes his head. No, he can theorize later. He has to find Ladybug quick, before she gets tricked into thinking this girl is actually one of them.

* * *

Chat Noir finds Ladybug soon enough, her spotted red figure easy to find swinging over the rooftops. It seems like she was nearby, considering how fast they cross paths.

“Hey, chaton,” Ladybug greets, face serious and gaze narrowed as she looks over at the vulpine heroine-slash-villain preening and soaking up the praising chants of the Parisian public. People were so easily swayed, especially civilians… Or maybe it was less that, and more the fact that Hawkmoth’s current Akuma was perfectly deceptive, with the appearance of a hero rather than a villain.

“Hey, milady,” he nods at her, face also sporting a frown. “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this new girl.”

“Same,” Ladybug agrees easily, and the leather-clad hero heaves a sigh of relief.

“Oh, good. Thought I’d have to convince you more,” he admits, smiling over at his partner.

His partner quirks a smile back, blue eyes kind behind her face mask. “No, don’t worry. I caught enough to recognize her as an Akuma. Plus, her timing is way off, especially with that meteor coming out of nowhere.”

“Good to see we’re on the same page,” he nods. “Engage with caution?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Can’t be sure what her powers are just yet, but I’ve got my suspicions…”

The two fist-bump, before making their way across the rooftops and towards the vulpine girl. Their target ends up meeting them halfway, flying over to them.

“Hey guys! Name’s Volpina. Glad you dropped in, I need a hand,” ‘Volpina’ says rapid-fire, gesturing and leaping off. “Come on!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir follow her quickly after exchanging a glance. Volpina doesn’t go far, just a few rooftops over, before stopping and crouching behind a junction between two roofs.

Chat Noir crouches down and looks over at where Volpina points and—wait, is that Hawkmoth?!

“It’s Hawkmoth?!” he exclaims, squinting over at the figure on another rooftop. That seems…a bit _too_ convenient.

“He never shows up!” Ladybug notes, crouching next to the leather-clad hero.

“We can take him down, but it’s gonna take all three of us,” Volpina says quickly. “We’ll have to use our individual talents.”

“Well, I’ve got the power of creation, and Chat Noir’s is destruction,” Ladybug says, eyeing their new ‘friend’ critically.

“I’ve got super strength and flight,” the vixen preens.

The spotted heroine nods. Though her expression isn’t wary, Chat Noir’s worked with her enough to know that her posture is tense. “Say, Volpina. What’s your Miraculous…?”

Volpina smiles back at the other smugly. “My necklace,” she says, picking up the chain to show it off to Ladybug.

Ladybug doesn’t hesitate to grab the necklace—only for Volpina to burst into orange smoke. “An illusion,” Ladybug scoffs darkly. “Should’ve figured…”

“Well, that just confirmed it,” Chat Noir sighs, twirling his baton in his hands. “We’ll have to track her down, now.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” the spotted heroine nods. “I’ve got two possible locations. One’s the nearby park, since I saw what I’m sure was her civilian self, running from there while crying. The second’s the house of the boy she’s had her heart crushed by.”

“Well, park’s probably the closest. Let’s look there, first,” Chat Noir suggests, internally sweating up a storm at the thought of an Akuma going to find him at the Agreste Manor, and finding nothing there. Though to be frank, the thought of Volpina catching up to Nino is a little more nerve-wracking…

* * *

Chat Noir and Ladybug don’t take long to leap across the rooftops and find themselves in the park where the entire disaster first started.

The blond has his hopes that nothing bad has happened yet, as there’s no destruction, or even illusions of destruction created by the Akuma. Jumping across the trees dotted across the park like some sort of Naruto character, he almost thinks Lila isn’t going to be there at all.

Except, he hears the Italian’s lilting tones pitched high in anger and frustration. “Are you _kidding_ me…?!” Volpina shrieks out. “I’m _literally_ standing right in front of you wearing a _superhero suit_ …!”

Chat Noir snorts as he bounds forwards. So, Volpina’s found Nino, it seems.

The hero manages to catch his boyfriend’s voice through his acute and heightened hearing. “I mean, that’s not solid proof or anything, my dude. Maybe you’re just a _really_ dedicated superhero fan, or something. I’ve seen Chloe in full Ladybug cosplay before. You’re nothing special.”

Chat Noir breaks through the of the park’s tree line, seeing and hearing Volpina shriek in absolute rage. “I HATE YOU SO MUCH…!”

Nino just stands his ground with his chin held high and a look of disdain on his face as the Akuma raises her flute, as if she was going to bash it against Nino’s skull. Ladybug is thankfully quick to send out her yoyo and snag the flute, pulling back and fighting against Volpina’s control. Good thing, too, considering his baton has much less range; he probably would’ve had to hope for his boyfriend to dodge that blow successfully.

It takes the leather-clad hero a few moments longer to finally reach ground zero itself, though he’s glad to note the cap-wearing boy has backed up quite a bit of distance from the Akumatized girl.

Ladybug keeps her yoyo taut, like she’s wrestling a lassoed bull, the two girls playing a vicious tug-of-war for Volpina’s flute.

It really doesn’t take as much effort as he’d thought to jump over Volpina’s form and put her in a headlock. While she gives a surprised cry, the leather-clad hero grabs the chain of her necklace and rips it right off her neck. He holds it up and chirps out “Cataclysm!”, watching the Akumatized item dissolve into dust in his gloved hand. He lets the girl go as she’s promptly enveloped in dark smoke, soon revealing a very confused Lila blinking around herself.

Well, hopefully, that necklace didn’t cost the girl much. It’s not exactly coming back anytime soon, since Ladybug didn’t even summon her Lucky Charm. Though there wasn’t a need, as nothing was damaged in their—surprisingly anti-climactic—scuffle. It was more a cat-and-mouse game than anything, really, than a proper confrontation. But it was nice to have easier Akuma to deal with every once in a while.

“Wha…What happened…?” Lila asks softly, frowning in consternation.

“You were Akumatized, I’m afraid,” Chat Noir starts, looking over at Ladybug, locking eyes and motioning to the girl with a jerk of his head. “I can’t hang around, but Ladybug can explain more, alright?”

“Oh. Um, thanks, Chat Noir,” the Italian replies dazedly, olive eyes wide as she stares up at him in awe. Chat Noir spares her a polite smile and a little wave, before turning around and bounding off.

* * *

Adrien huffs as he jogs, hoping that in the four or so minutes it took him to de-transform and make his way back to the park, nothing substantially terrible has happened.

Some awkwardness was bound to happen, considering how he and Nino had made Lila flee in tears…But hopefully Ladybug had helped talk the girl through her grievances, as she didn’t have to rush off with a time limit, like he did in that moment.

When he arrives, it’s to Ladybug trying to wave away an interview from a ridiculously excited and enthusiastic Alya, Lila and Nino standing awkwardly to the side and watching the event unfold. Well, Nino’s standing awkwardly, Lila is standing with her arms crossed and glaring daggers at the spotted heroine. No doubt because she’s being completely ignored, despite having just been de-Akumatized.

“I’m sorry, but I really need to find someone and make sure they’re okay,” he hears Ladybug say as he jogs up, looking nervous and apologetic.

“Nino! Alya! Lila!” he calls, raising a hand to wave at the trio of civilians.

“Adrien!” Nino exclaims, quickly running over to him to bring him into a hug. Adrien notes Ladybug swinging away with the distraction he provided, before hugging his boyfriend back properly. “Good that you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” he answers warmly, giving one last squeeze before regretfully letting the other go. He turns to smile sheepishly at the two girls, Alya bemused and Lila quietly contemplative. “You two okay, too…?”

“Just ran around on a wild goose chase, but I’m fine otherwise,” the blogger says casually with a shrug. “You?”

“Went and hid, just in case,” Adrien says, glancing over at Lila, who bodily flinches when his attention’s on her. “Uh, you okay, Lila?”

“Fine,” the girl snaps, wrapping her arms around herself and turning away. “I…I’m fine.”

“Well, uh. I’m glad for that,” the model says, deeply awkward. The four just stand there, silent as a grave, Lila studiously avoiding their gazes while the three friends look at each other and shrug helplessly. It seems like after her Akumatization, Lila wasn’t exactly up for chatting. Makes sense, all things considering.

“Lila…!” a new voice calls, cutting through the cloying tension in the air. Adrien finds himself letting out a small sigh of relief, endlessly grateful as he turns to smile over at Marinette running up to them. “Guys! I’m glad you’re okay…!”

“Hey, Mari,” Nino greets, giving her a fist-bump. Adrien just settles for a clap on her shoulder, and Alya gives her a quick side-hug.

But Marinette’s gaze is on Lila. She straightens, a look of determination on her face, a woman on a mission as she steps over to the lying girl. “Lila…”

The Italian flinches, hunching in on herself. “ _What_?” she asks, low and scathing.

Marinette pauses in front of her, hesitating, before leaning down slightly and placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay. Getting Akumatized is awful.”

The foreigner seems to relax under the other’s touch and soothing words. She straightens her posture and lets her arms drop to her sides, facing Marinette with a wide-eyed look, something more open and vulnerable than Adrien’s seen from almost all the other expressions Lila’s shown him combined.  
  


“You…Is that right?” Lila asks, something odd in her voice, thicker than her quiet disbelief.

“Of course! I couldn’t make you feel better, and you got Akumatized… I’m sorry, I tried my best,” the half-Chinese girl says, wilting a bit.

“Why—” Lila shakes her head. “It’s not your fault, Marinette.”

“Still! Getting Akumatized is scary business. No one deserves to go through that,” Marinette says, posture straightening. She gestures over to them, still hovering back and watching the ordeal. “Most of our class has gotten Akumatized, by this point. I think only me and Adrien’ve managed to escape it so far.” Lila winces when she looks over at them, something close to contrition on her expression.

“Yeah, it’s not a great feeling at all,” Alya agrees, stepping forwards with a sympathetic smile.

“I know. I’ve seen it on the news,” the Italian states, before shrugging Marinette’s hand off her shoulder. “I mean, I thought I knew. It’s…way different going through it, than just seeing the news reports, I’ll admit.”

“It sure is,” the blogger agrees.

“It’s pretty much the worst,” Nino adds, rubbing the back of his head and shooting Adrien a guilty smile. The blond shakes his head, threading their hands together with a soothing grin.

“It’s never the fault of the person Akumatized. Hawkmoth takes people’s emotions and twists them all up,” Adrien explains, turning to Lila with a smile. He feels a pang when the girl averts her gaze. “Um, Lila—”

“You were right. Both of you. I was delusional to think Adrien could like me,” the Italian girl says flatly, crossing her arms, gaze still averted in the closest thing to shame she’s shown. “Especially as I lied about…most everything about myself, just to make me seem more impressive. Sorry for that.”

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” Adrien apologizes in turn. Lila whips her gaze over at him, olive eyes wide and mouth agape. “I was harsher than I needed to be. I could’ve let you down gently.”

“And I’m sorry for acting like a dick. I took it all too far, too,” Nino nods at the Italian. “I guess I get mad protective of my boyfriend, but that shouldn’t really be an excuse…”

“I…wait, _boyfriend_?” the Italian asks, stressing the word and whipping her gaze between the two of them. Then her gaze lands on their interlocked hands, and she stares for a long moment, dawning realization filling her face. “Oh… _Oh_.”

“Yeah…” Adrien trails off nervously with a little hiss and wince. “Um. Sorry, but—can you please keep this one the down-low? I know you’re still mad at me and how I treated you—which is perfectly reasonable! I just…”

“You’re keeping this a secret,” Lila states more than asks. “You haven’t come out yet.”

“He can’t,” Nino states flatly.

“It’s—It’s complicated. If this ever got back to my Father…” Adrien full-body cringes, and he feels Nino swipe a thumb over his knuckles. “L-Let’s just say, he would heavily disapprove—”

“Not just that, he’d lock Adrien back up in his house,” Nino says, now gripping the blond’s hand in his tightly, both as support and as a visceral reaction to the thought itself. “He’d cut Adrien off from the outside world again, just to keep him under his thumb. Like a prisoner.”

“Oh,” Lila whispers, eyes wide, a look of horror slowly emerging on her face. “Oh, that’s…wow.”

“It’s heavy shit. Sorry,” Adrien laughs awkwardly.

“What are you apologizing for? I’m the one that kept pushing you!” the Italian snaps, shaking her head with a frustrated sigh. “I mean, it’s no _wonder_ you didn’t like me, considering you’re gay and with a boyfriend. Wish I’d realized it earlier, but I—"

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier, Lila!” Marinette cuts through, hands clasped up to her face. The Italian turns to face the half-Chinese girl with her full attention. “It’s just—our class, we made a promise to keep Adrien and Nino’s relationship a secret, for both their safeties… But telling you earlier, it would’ve saved us a _lot_ of trouble. And saved you the heartache…”

“It’s… fine. Heartache’s for love, not infatuation,” Lila finally says, reaching out to grip onto Marinette’s hands, smiling something small and slight at the other girl. “I—I get it. Gabriel Agreste is a famous man, and if anyone knew about this, well…rumors spread really quickly. I can see why you all kept it to yourselves, since I’m new.”

“Sorry again. I haven’t really acted like a proper friend,” Adrien says with a sad sigh.

“Me neither,” Nino nods, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I got—jealous. Real jealous. And took it out on you. Not cool.”

“No, no, I can see why,” Lila shakes her head, letting go of Marinette’s hands and looking at the cap-wearing boy. “You were just defending your man from the homewrecker—”

“Don’t say that about yourself!” the half-Chinese girl exclaims, placing a hand on Lila’s shoulder. “You just didn’t know. It was a misunderstanding all around… And I’m sorry for not being truthful with you either, and being a bad friend—”

“I forgive you.”

Marinette blinks back at the Italian. “Huh?”

Lila takes Marinette’s hand off her shoulder, holding it between both her hands, giving the half-Chinese girl a soft smile. One that looks achingly genuine. “Marinette, you’re probably the closest thing I have to a friend in Paris, and I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I forgive you.”

“I’m glad,” Marinette smiles back tentatively, squeaking when Lila pulls her into a hug. “O-Oh! Oh, hah, okay…”

“Italians. Very affectionate,” Lila says jokingly with a chuckle. The two girls embrace, Marinette beaming all the while like the sun, looking overjoyed that she managed to break through to the transfer student. When they let go, both girls are smiling widely. Lila turns to Nino and Adrien with that same smile, as if Marinette’s friendship lit her up from the inside. “Can we maybe start over…? I’ll try to be a better friend, this time.”

“Sure! I will, too,” Adrien grins and nods.

“Same,” Nino nods along.

“Me too, girl,” Alya says, stepping up and bringing Lila into a quick hug. “I tried giving you the benefit of the doubt, but I didn’t really do anything beyond that.”

“It’s fine. And I’m sorry I lied about Ladybug to you, Alya.”

“It’s not like I ended up posting your interview on the Ladyblog anyways. I’d be in bigger trouble if I did,” the blogger shrugs. “No harm, no foul.”

“I’m sorry I lied to…well, most of the class, actually,” Lila sighs with a grimace, crossing her arms. “It’s just—you’re all so amazing! It’s a hard legacy to live up to the Akuma Class of Paris, no matter how well-traveled I am…”

The quartet of friends all exchange looks and grins, having had one of their theories confirmed. It’s good to know their more charitable thoughts on Lila ended up being the truth after all.

“Just try not to lie anymore,” Marinette says kindly.

“And maybe apologize for the other lies you told to the class, too,” Alya adds.

The Italian hisses, cringing and sucking in a breath through her teeth. “Um, see…That might be a little complicated…”

“I’m sure they’ll forgive you, if you show you’re sorry!” Adrien says encouragingly. “Our class doesn’t hold grudges!”

“Well, most of the class don’t. Except maybe Chloe,” Nino points out.

“Okay, yeah, most of the class minus Chloe,” the blond amends, before quickly assuring, “But still! That’s thirteen of the fourteen of us. Pretty good record.”

“No, see, it’s …It’s a little more complicated than that…” Lila says, rubbing the back of her neck.

* * *

“I’m sorry for the lies I’ve told you all. I’ve got a history of a compulsive lying because of my CD. Um, my Conduit Disorder, I mean…” Lila explains to their Homeroom as she stands at the front, hands clasped in front of herself. Miss Bustier gives an encouraging nod to the girl, who looks to be sweating nervously.

“So Jagged Stone never wrote a song about you?” Chloe asks in a sarcastic drawl.

“No,” Lila confirms.

“And you didn’t save his kitten either?” Juleka manages to ask, her unimpressed, flat voice loud enough to carry to the front of the room.

“No.”

“And you never—” Rose starts.

“—flew with Prince Ali in his private jet? No,” the Italian sighs. “Again, everything fantastic I told you all were just lies. I _do_ travel often across the world because of my mother’s job, but I don’t really meet many famous people during my travels.”

Adrien looks around the room. The entire class doesn’t seem particularly angry of the news. In fact, they all look like they were expecting this confession. Chloe looks irritated and wanting the scene to end, Alix and Nathaniel look bored, Kim looks mildly confused and disappointed, and Max seems to have seen this coming a mile away by the fact that he’s just casually doing calculations instead of listening.

Lila averts her gaze, a look of pure frustration on her face. Then she looks back out into the class, seemingly locking eyes with one of their classmates. Her gaze is just over Adrien’s head, so he guesses she’s looking right at Marinette to address.

The Italian straightens her spine, renewed determination in her posture and expression.

“Long story short, sometimes I really can’t help but lie to exaggerate things about myself. Call me out on it. I’ll get angry at first, but it’s the only way to try and get me to stop.” She takes a breath. “If I step out of line in any other way, like do something that makes you feel uncomfortable or used, you need to tell me flat-out to my face, or I won’t realize I’m doing something wrong. It’s another Thing that happens because of my CD, I’m afraid.”

“Yes, Kim?” Bustier asks. Adrien turns to look at the jock, who lowers his hand.

“Do you take meds for it, like Nath does?” Kim asks glibly.

“I’ve got BPD, Kim. It’s a different condition,” Nathaniel answers tiredly from his seat in the back, loud enough for the rest of class to hear.

“Ohhhhh, okay. Sorry, dude.”

“I’m afraid that’s too personal of a question for someone to answer in the first place, Kim,” Miss Bustier says, a bit reproachful.

“Sorry, didn’t mean anything by it,” the jock says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Alya gives an amused snort, and next to Kim, Max gives a fond shake of his head. “Uh, I still think you’re cool, Lila!”

“Thanks…?” the Italian says, confusion thick in her voice and her brows furrowed.

“Thank you, Lila, for telling us about this and apologizing for your past actions,” their teacher tells the girl warmly, rubbing one of Lila’s shoulders. “Please go back to your seat, dear. You can talk with the class over these personal things later, at lunch.”

“Yes, Miss Bustier,” Lila says demurely, bowing her head, before turning and walking up the steps to her seat. On the way, she nods at Marinette, who beams back at her encouragingly with double thumbs up. The Italian settles next to Nathaniel, who seems much less anxious with her presence as his seat partner now.

“Alright, class,” Miss Bustier claps her hands. “Please open up your books to page fifty-seven…”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I’m giving Lila a bit of a redemption arc and a reason for her being a terrible person. Strange to see in this fandom, but I’m under the firm belief that no 14/15 year old is going to be completely evil. She is still a child, and children have the ability to learn and grow, and become better people with the right help.
> 
> Gabriel Agreste/Hawkmoth though? He’s a grown-ass man who constantly hurts other people and manipulates them. Fuck him. He gets no sympathy from me.
> 
> I gave Lila Conduct Disorder, which is a subset of Anti Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). Conduct Disorder can be diagnosed in children under 10, or from 10-15 years old.
> 
> "Children with the disorder often display impulsive and aggressive behavior, may be callous and deceitful, and may repeatedly engage in petty crime such as stealing or vandalism or get into fights with other children and adults."
> 
> ASPD and psychopathy, conditions where you're charismatic and have no regard for others and do things to better yourself or get something you want, are very intertwined. It’s hard to tell them apart when diagnosing.
> 
> The thing with ASPD is that it crosses with other conditions like ADHD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc. So you can get mood stabilizers, anti-depressants, and therapy to help you. There isn’t a 'cure all' medicine though.
> 
> Next chapter: the official epilogue.


	13. Mysteries and Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the last of this fic! Whoo!
> 
> It’s the epilogue. Because while the Volpina chapter managed to cover everything about Lila and Volpina, well. There was one plot thread and ending scene that didn’t get covered…

* * *

Adrien didn’t have time to ask Ladybug about the book yesterday after all.

The situation with Lila’s Akumatization took way too much time and energy. By the time it was all over, and Adrien was back in his room, all he’d wanted to do was sleep and have nothing hard to do. Just. _One_ afternoon without some sort of drama.

Considering how much time he’s spent with them in his possession…he thinks it’s time to go to the Guardian with the book and the Peacock Miraculous he’d found. He feels guilty skipping Ladybug’s opinion, but he’s got a bad feeling about putting this off any longer. Time’s ticking, he has an important artifact, a Miraculous that had apparently been ‘lost’ (whatever Plagg meant by that), and his Mother’s still missing.

Adrien’s fairly sure giving the Guardian—an adult who knows much more about magical artifacts—the book and Miraculous as soon as possible will help him gain answers about Mother’s disappearance. It might even be paramount in defeating Hawkmoth, for all he knows!

He’ll tell Ladybug about it all later, when he has the time, just so he doesn’t leave his partner in the dark about it. Maybe he’ll ask Nino to borrow his photos and show them to her, or convince her to visit the Guardian to look at the book and recovered Miraculous herself, in her own time.

As it stands, Adrien’s bag is heavy with the weight of the magical artifacts and the weight of the knowledge behind them. Thankfully, Nino is right there by his side to help him with that metaphorical weight.

They exit school with distracted goodbyes to their friends and classmates. Lila is all but plastered to a confused Marinette’s side, Alya looking bemused of the Italian’s doting affections. The other two couples in the class are off in their own little worlds, just giving them little waves. Chloe and Sabrina nod at them, before Chloe flounces off and Sabrina follows with a smile.

Kim is loudly begging Max to help him study for an upcoming exam—and wasn’t that terrifying, realizing exams were still going on, despite all the Akuma drama? Nathaniel is ducking out of Alix’s headlock and waving her away with a grin, heading once more to Mendeleieve’s class, Marc waiting in the hallway and smiling shyly at the redhead’s approach.

Things feel like they’re…settling. Going back to some semblance of order.

It’s nice, especially after all the personal drama that’s happened recently. Plus, now that most of the class has been Akumatized, they’re bonded through trauma. He’s pretty sure there doesn’t exist a class of teenagers out there in Paris that are more ferociously loyal than Bustier’s Homeroom.

Dupont may be scrutinized by being under constant Akuma attacks, but there’s a sort of pride that comes from attending the school and surviving it. A strength that grows, as the students and teachers all band together during attacks, during the aftermaths, during the in-between periods where everyone tries to pick the other up and stay united in the face of adversity.

The Akuma rates for Dupont may be the highest of any school, but they’ve mostly petered off by now. Chloe hasn’t gotten someone personally Akumatized since… Actually, Dark Cupid was the last time, and she hadn’t even meant to be so harsh in turning Kim down. Just the normal heartbreak of rejection being preyed upon by Hawkmoth, inflated and twisted for his own uses.

Now that Chloe’s mellowed out—and dare Adrien say, turned a new leaf—he’s sure there won’t be a constant need to look over one’s shoulder while at Dupont. The paranoia of being on high alert won’t ever go away—especially for him, as he’s Chat Noir and needs to respond quickly to crises—but it’ll be a cautious ‘what could be’ instead of an inevitable ‘it will be’.

Maybe Adrien’s being philosophical, as he wanders the school’s halls with his boyfriend, smiling and nodding at passerby. No one faints or squeals when he smiles at them anymore at school. Everyone’s seemingly gotten over the fact that he’s Adrien Agreste the model, gotten over their hero worship and infatuation.

It’s…nice. Dupont’s nice. It has its ups and downs, but it’s a nice school with nice people. A nice place for Adrien to go to school for the very first time.

It’s the school where he met all his classmates and friends, after all. Where he met his best friends in Marinette and Alya. Where he met his best friend and boyfriend, the boy he loves with all his heart and soul, in Nino.

They’ve been through a lot, these past eight months. Spring holidays aren’t far away, in mid April.

He gives a wave to a passing Aurore and Mireille, the two weather girls waving back at him with bright smiles, hands clasped. Had it really been so long ago, when he was facing Stormy Weather, the second ever Akuma in Paris…? Eight months feels like both a millennia and a nanosecond at once.

He’s learned a lot in these eight months. Learned about friendship. Learned about bravery. Learned to stand up for himself, and others. Learned about love, its ups and downs.

He’s learned a lot just being Chat Noir, without anyone to guide him, just his partner Ladybug by his side and fumbling along with him. He feels like he’s learned so much, and yet so little, at the same time. And by meeting the Guardian, he’ll be learning more… It’s an exciting and terrifying prospect.

* * *

Adrien smiles at the sun shining in the sky, smiles at how it warms his skin, when he steps outside with Nino. He’s nervous, but he feels less terrified, just with Nino being by his side.

The first thing Nino does when they exit the school is take his cap off, placing it on Adrien’s head. The blond blinks in surprise, sputtering and ducking, but his boyfriend just presses the cap firmly on his head without being deterred.

“You can’t go around without a disguise, remember?” the darker-skinned boy says, a little teasingly, smile crooked and fond. “So, here. This’ll help hide your hair, at least.”

“O-Oh…Uh, thanks,” Adrien manages to say, face warm with a blush. It feels odd, wearing a cap, but… The fact that it’s his boyfriend’s is making him a little giddy, honestly.

“If this keeps up, you’ll start switching clothes, too,” Plagg snorts and cackles. Adrien feels his face burn as hot as an oven.

“What’s the little guy telling you to get you that red…?” Nino asks with a light laugh.

“Nothing! Nothing,” the model says quickly, images flashing in his mind’s eye of wearing one of Nino’s oversized t-shirts. Maybe he should ask him later if he could… No, that’s too embarrassing! “A-Anyways, Plagg—to the Guardian!”

The Kwami hums, a wide smirk still on his face, no doubt amused to no end by Adrien’s flustered response. “It’ll be a bit of a walk. You up for it?” Plagg questions playfully.

Adrien nods, forcing his blush to die down, before realizing he needs to say something aloud for the other boy’s benefit. “You okay with walking?” Adrien asks, turning to his boyfriend, who just looks vaguely at the spot where Adrien’s eyes were before.

“Uh, yeah. I’m good with that,” the bespectacled boy nods with a little smile.

Adrien grips Nino’s hand with his own smile, closing his eyes. “Cool. Let’s see if I can connect, so you can see Plagg, too.”

Double-checking that their hands are connected well enough for Nino’s skin to press against the ring, Adrien concentrates. He feels the energy in his ring, feels Plagg hovering in front of him, all inky blackness like a black hole and as warm as a burning star. He takes a thread of energy from his ring, and wraps it around Nino’s hand.

The blond opens his eyes and looks over at Nino, smiling at the awed expression on the bespectacled boy’s face.

“Still so cool…!” Nino breathes out, staring back at Plagg.

Plagg preens, a wide and toothy smile on his maw. “Your boy’s reaction won’t ever get old, kit.”

Adrien snorts and shakes his head. “Just take us where we need to go, before you start strutting around like an actual cat.”

“Fine, fine,” the Kwami drawls in a whine, before turning around. “C’mon, it’s this way.”

Adrien tugs Nino along, following Plagg’s directions. Though he really doesn’t need to lead his boyfriend, considering Nino can see Plagg fine and well while he shares power with him. But Adrien does it anyways, feeling like it’s part of his duty as a superhero boyfriend to step forwards into the unknown before his civilian boyfriend.

Right now, they probably just look like a normal couple, or a pair of very good friends. The blond internally snorts at the thought that people would think the latter. Hell, he’d thought the latter applied to the both of them just a few weeks back…

Things have changed a lot. And for the better.

“You still sure you want me there, in the middle of all this important Miraculous business…?” Nino asks him quietly, after a few minutes of roaming the streets of Paris on their quest.

“Of course! You’re as much a part of this as I am, Nino,” Adrien tells his boyfriend firmly. “And besides, I wouldn’t want anyone else with me when I face the Guardian.”

“Alright then. Glad I can help,” the bespectacled boy laughs, some of the tension leaking from his shoulders. Adrien hadn’t even realized that Nino was stressing out about such a detail. It just seemed like a given, something automatic, that Adrien would have Nino by his side in this. After all, his boyfriend was by his side in pretty much everything important in Adrien’s life so far. Why would this be any different?

“I’m glad to have your help,” the blond says, genuine and heartfelt and oh-so-fond.

Nino grins shyly back, running a hand through his cropped curls. “I—yeah. I’m glad to help. Always.”

“Ahem _hem_ ,” Plagg pipes up, clearing his throat dramatically. “Do you actually wanna meet the Guardian, or are you two gonna make moon eyes at each other all day?”

“ _Plagg_!” Adrien squeaks, face going warm. Nino looks just as flustered, rubbing at a darkened cheek.

“What? It’s a genuine question,” the little God asks smarmily.

“Just take us to the Guardian already…” the blond tries not to whine.

The Kwami bobs in place with a Cheshire Cat grin, turning back around. “Alright, alright, don’t get testy with me… Heh. Teenagers.”

* * *

The pair follow along in silence for a bit. The day is nice out, thankfully, and Nino’s cap manages to keep Adrien from feeling warm from the sun’s rays. Though their hands are starting to get sweaty, Adrien isn’t planning on letting go anytime soon.

After a bit of walking, a question occurs to him. “What’s the thing about this book anyways, Plagg…? You never told me,” the blond asks his Kwami.

“It’s got secrets, kit. Secrets about the Miraculous powers,” Plagg says, turning around and facing the duo, flying backwards.

“So it’s super dangerous if anyone else gets it, then?” Nino asks the Kwami, the shared power of the ring still entwined around his hand.

“Exactly!” the little God nods with his entire body, bobbing in the air. “It’s all written in code anyways, but it’s still dangerous if it’s in the wrong hands.”

“And I guess the Guardian can crack the code?” Adrien asks, though he feels like that’s a given.

“He should know at least some of it,” the Kwami shrugs, turning back around and gesturing to the next business down from them. “Right, we’re here.”

The boyfriends step forwards where Plagg points, and stall, looking up at the building in front of them. It’s plain grey concrete with a massive walnut front door. There’s matching walnut wood accents, including two front windows to the business with fogged glass and black iron filigree. A sign hangs above the entrance declaring it the ‘Natural Massage Shop’. Pinned up next to the front door is a bright yellow poster with a Chinese red dragon at the top, with a list of basic services.

“A…massage parlor?” Adrien asks, confused and feeling underwhelmed. He never would have guessed that the home base of this mysterious Guardian would be someplace so…underwhelmingly mundane. Or that the Guardian would be a masseur, of all things.

“C’mon, kids. Your destiny awaits,” Plagg grins toothily, with a dramatic wave of his little stubby paws.

The boys share a long look, before nodding at each other. Adrien grabs the brass door handle, entering the building, Nino right behind him, their hands still firmly connected.

It’s all pretty wood and screen paneling around them, with bamboo decorations and calming cream accents, Adrien can’t help but note. The entrance seems to be a receptionist area, with a few chairs and low tables, including many potted plants and a slew of dated-looking magazines from last year.

Plagg just casually floats forwards, phasing through a dark wooden door across from them. No doubt, the main area where the Guardian does his massage business. Adrien nods towards the door, Nino hitches Adrien’s bag higher up his shoulder, and the two step forwards. Adrien gives an awkward knock, waits a few beats, before opening the door. The couple carefully make their way through, making sure to keep their hands connected all the while.

In the very center of the new room, a greying man sits on a ginormous square mat on the floor. A low, round table with lighted candles is next to the mat, the wafting scent of chamomile in the room rather calming.

The calming scent matches the image of the rather calm man. He’s sitting with his legs crossed, hands together in his lap, head bent down and looking like he’s deep in meditation. He looks quite serene. Contrasting to his calm image, the greying man is wearing a garish red Hawaiian shirt with white print flowers, and khakis with house slippers.

He…doesn’t look too old, actually. Grey hair, beard, and mustache. Balding. But he doesn’t look any older than fifty or sixty, if Adrien had to take a guess. The man’s skin doesn’t seem to be incredibly wrinkled to be seventy or older.

Adrien’s not sure who he expected as the mysterious ‘Guardian’. Maybe someone more self-important. A man in robes, and a long white beard, or something. Like…Like a Chinese emperor, almost. Or a kind-of Gandalf-looking man.

When the duo slowly step inside, the man raises his head and opens his eyes, smiling up at them. In a calm and low voice, he intones, “Hello, Chat Noir. And a guest as well, I see.”

The boys exchange a startled look, hands tightening, power still thrumming between their digits.

“Come in. Sit,” the Guardian gestures at them with a kind smile, amber eyes bright and calculating. “No need to be shy. Please, make yourselves at home.”

Nino carefully closes the door behind them, and the two boys do as suggested.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the massive cliffhanger! But canon did this to us, too. And this fic is only covering/re-writing Season 1 of Miraculous Ladybug.
> 
> I’m not sure if I’ll have time to write a sequel. I only managed this write and finish this fic because I was on winter break when I plotted and wrote the majority of it. I’m currently in the newest semester of graduate school, which includes being a teacher, so I won’t have time to keep writing such an involved AU as this.
> 
> And even in this fic itself, there’s a lot of things I wished to cover, but didn’t have time to and just plain couldn’t, because the POV is strictly on Adrien. Even though I loved writing it, there are also lots of things happening outside of Adrien’s POV, lots of moving parts and characters and such.
> 
> It was hard juggling so many characters and threads/character motivations, but I’m personally pretty pleased with what I’ve done.
> 
> Anyways, thank you all for your support on this fic! It’s been a blast to write and upload chapters.


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